


When I See You

by clockworknobody



Series: Malec [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Bisexual Male Character, Canon Gay Relationship, Canon Relationships, Closeted, Drunk Alec, Dry Humping, Emotional Abusive Father, Finished, Happy Ending, High School AU, Kissing, Mild Cursing, Minor Bullying, Multi, Pride Parade, Robert sucks, Slight Smut, Slowburn Relationship, caring siblings and friends, drunk Alec can't spell the word "bedroom", fetus Max, gay kissing, nothing more than that, pregnant!Maryse, some self deprecating thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-06-06 17:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 65,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15200048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clockworknobody/pseuds/clockworknobody
Summary: Alec Lightwood has exactly two friends; his adopted brother, Jace, and his sister, Isabelle. No one knows who he truly is.Magnus Bane has more friends than he can count. Or, maybe he just has a lot of people hanging around him. No one knows who he truly is.They have more in common than they realize.





	1. Chapter One

**Chapter One:**  

 

**Alec**

"Izzy, let's go," Alec yelled from the front door. 

"Give me a minute," she replied a second later. 

Alec sighed and shifted impatiently onto his other foot. Jace, his adopted brother, had gotten a ride from some of his basketball friends, which was probably a good thing, since he and Isabelle were usually late for homeroom.

"It's been a minute," Alec yelled. "It's been at least five." He was about ready to climb up the stairs and see what was taking Isabelle so long to get ready, when she came sashaying down the stairwell wearing a skin tight black dress with laced-up black boots and several pieces of jewelry. In her hand, she held a clutch purse that was a deep burgundy color.

"So what do you think of my new dress?" she asked, twirling for Alec to see.

"I think if I tell you it shows too much, you're just going to ignore me."

She smirked and kissed Alec on the cheek. "You know me so well." 

"You're going to get in trouble for violating the dress code," Alec said as they walked out to his car. 

Isabelle shrugged. "Maybe it'll get me out of geometry."

 

**Magnus**

Mornings in Magnus's house were always the same no matter what. The family maid would come in and wake Magnus up. He would try on a few different outfits that he liked (and looked _very_ good in), and then he'd do his hair. His current hairstyle was a mohawk with his tips dyed blue. He would dab a little glitter on his cheeks and around his eyes, and then he'd check his fingernails for chips in the polish. If he found one, he'd repaint it, and if he didn't, he'd walk down the sweeping staircase into the large kitchen. There, he'd be greeted with waffles drizzled in syrup and covered with powdered sugar. After he finished that, he'd go back upstairs and brush his teeth while the maid gathered up his school supplies. Then the family driver would drive him to school where he would get out and be the most popular guy at school.

It was kind of lonely, when Magnus stopped to think about it, but it was the only thing he had ever known.

 

**Alec**

It was 7:54 a.m. when Alec pulled into the school parking lot. The majority of the crowd that tended to gather outside the school had gone inside already. Still, they had been later.

The second Alec pulled out the key, Isabelle jumped out and shouted a goodbye to her older brother. Alec watched as she rushed into the school as fast as she could. 

If Alec didn't know better, he would've thought she was worried about being late to class. 

He reached over into the backseat to gather his backpack and books and started walking towards the school. He opened up his science book to make sure he had finished the homework, when a loud honk from a car stopped him in his tracks.

Alec looked up and immediately rushed back as a large limousine-looking automobile drove way faster than the speed limit into a parking space. Alec stared curiously at the car and blushed when he saw that it was Idris High's most popular boy: Magnus Bane. 

As he got out of the car, Alec was mesmerized by the gorgeous young man standing in front of him. His black hair was up in a mohawk with dark blue dye on the tips. He wore glitter on his face that sparkled in the sun, and his outfit was just as far from the dress code as Isabelle's. 

"Hey, sorry 'bout that," he said, slamming the door shut. "Our driver called in sick, so I had to drive."

Alec just nodded, suddenly reminded of why he didn't hang out with the popular kids. (Besides the fact that they didn't want to hang out with him.) 

All the popular kids were that way because of the money their parents had. They all lived in gorgeous 30-room mansions with chandeliers in every room and a sweeping staircase. 

Alec began to cross the street again—after looking both ways vigorously, of course—and was surprised to see that Magnus was walking right next to him.

Alec was tall at 6 ft. 3, and he was surprised to find that Magnus was just slightly taller than him. It was because of his height that Jace wanted him to try out for the basketball team, but when they went to the Y to shoot some hoops, Alec's inability to dribble or make a shot quickly bursted Jace's dream.

They walked in silence to the front doors, when Magnus turned to Alec and said, "Again, I'm really sorry about that."

Alec, who was getting increasingly uncomfortable, just shook his head and mumbled, "It's okay."

They signed in at the office, and Alec walked briskly to his locker. It was located, thankfully, near his homeroom, so he wouldn't be super late to class.

"Bye!" Magnus chirped cheerfully, brushing easily past Alec. 

Speechless, Alec just watched him walk away.

 

**Magnus**

He would have to put "Learning more about Alec Lightwood" on his To Do list. Magnus had never spoken much to the black-haired blue-eyed beauty, but he had definitely noticed him. 

Alec always hung around his siblings who were significantly more popular than him, even though he was the oldest. Jace Herondale was an athlete, and Isabelle was gorgeous and could flirt her way out of anything. But Alec was a mystery, and Magnus liked it.

Plus, even though Alec was tall, Magnus was still slightly taller, which he also liked. 

Walking to his locker, Magnus couldn't stop thinking about Alec. His black hair had that messy just-rolled-out-of-bed vibe, and Magnus was certain that wasn't on purpose. His eyebrows were thick and long and his nose a little crooked. His eyes, though, were what struck Magnus the most. They were deep blue in the center and faded into a lighter blue around the edges. There were also flecks of violet in certain lights, and Magnus was mesmerized by them.

After all, black hair and blue eyes had always been Magnus's favorite combination.

 


	2. Chapter Two

> **Chapter Two**

 

 

 

**Alec**

In all of his morning classes, Alec found himself thinking of Magnus instead of the lesson being taught at the front of the room. They had never spoken before, but everyone at Idris High knew who Magnus Bane was. Even his name commanded attention.

After getting Latin notes from Lydia, the girl sitting next to him, he was relieved to find that it was time for lunch. Jace and Izzy had the same lunch period as him, which he was extremely grateful for.

Alec sat down right in the middle of Izzy complaining about the cafeteria food.

"I don't even know what this is," she groaned as she gingerly poked at what could possibly be called a meatball sub. "You know what? I'm actually not that hungry after all."

Alec pulled out his lunch box and began unwrapping his sandwich. "This is why I pack my lunch, dearest sister," he said. He smiled as Isabelle glared at him.

"By the way," Alec began, "thanks for just leaving me there in the parking lot."

Isabelle shrugged. "You could've caught up if you wanted to."

Jace came over and dropped the tray down on the table. "I don't know what this is, and I'm not eating it."

Alec opened his mouth before Jace cut him off. "I know I should pack my lunch, Alec, you don't need to keep reminding me."

As Jace and Izzy valiantly tried to find some part of their food that was edible, Alec felt eyes on him. He ignored it, hoping the feeling would go away, but it only intensified. He glanced up and saw Magnus blatantly staring at him. When their eyes made contact, Magnus smirked.

"What're you looking at?" Izzy asked, following Alec's gaze. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Why is Magnus Bane looking over here?"

Jace looked up. "Magnus Bane's looking at us?" he asked curiously around a mouthful of fruit. "Why?"

"Probably because he's wondering why you two are sitting with a loser like me." Alec wasn't oblivious to the fact that his younger siblings were well-known around the school; way more well-known than him.

"Don't say that," Isabelle scolded him gently. "People just need to get to know you. It also wouldn't hurt if you would put yourself out there a little more."

Alec snorted as he bit into a carrot. "Yeah, I'll get on that," he said.

He looked down at his food, not daring to look up. He waited for the feeling of being watched to go away, but it didn't.

 

**Magnus**

Camille was rambling on and on about some new dress she had just gotten for her birthday, and Magnus was bored to death. Every day, Camille was either excited about something meaningless or upset about something meaningless, and it was really starting to get on Magnus's nerves.

He looked around the cafeteria, even though he knew the layout by heart. The lunch line was so long that it snaked around the lunchroom almost reaching to the door. Everyone knew where to sit; Magnus didn't know who had enforced that rule, but it was common knowledge to everyone. 

The punk rock/goth and emo kids sat in the far right corner near the beginning of the lunch line. The "nerds"—the students who got excellent grades—sat on the opposite side near the door. Magnus supposed it made for a convenient getaway just in case. The stragglers just kind of floated, sitting at a new table every day—minus the popular one, of course. Within the popular table, there were different sections. The athletes sat near the trash cans where they liked to pretend to play basketball with their trash. Cheerleaders sat on the other end of the table, their hair always perfectly curled. The closer you sat to Camille, who always sat at the center of the table, the more popular you were and the better she liked you. Magnus was on her left and Raphael Santiago was on her right. Clarissa Fairchild, who was on the cheerleading squad, sat across from Camille, and Ragnor Fell sat next to her. 

Magnus found it interesting that Jace and Isabelle Lightwood sat with their older brother instead of opting to sit with their other friends. He supposed it was sweet of them to stick by their brother, who had the looks to be popular, but nothing else.

 _Speak of the devil,_ Magnus thought to himself as he found where Alec Lightwood and his siblings ate their lunch.

He was aware of how creepy he must look just staring at the trio, but then Alec looked up with those gorgeous blue eyes of his, and he found that he didn't really care anymore.

He watched as Isabelle and Jace turned to look at him, and he watched as they began to converse with each other. He was delighted to see a faint rosy blush appear on Alec's cheek, giving him a little bit of color.

"What're you looking at?" Camille asked Magnus, bringing him out of his trance-like state.

"Oh, nothing," Magnus said, knowing that wouldn't satisfy Camille's curiosity. "Just doing some people watching." 

"Why were you looking at Alexander Lightwood?" Raphael asked, swallowing his quesadilla. Magnus gave him a look, which didn't seem to faze him. Nothing really seemed to faze Raphael.

"He's cute," Camille said, delicately twirling her blonde hair around her manicured finger. 

Magnus could see her eyeing Alec up and down, and he quickly jumped in. "He's never dated anyone before," he said. "At least, _I've_ never seen him with anyone."

Camille arched her perfectly shaped eyebrows. "There have been rumors saying he's gay. Nothing's confirmed, though." She delicately picked out a sliver of onion from her salad. "Maybe I should go over and ask him."

And before Magnus could say anything to stop her, she stood up, smoothened out her dress, and click-clacked her way over to where Alec was sitting.

 

**Alec**

The sharp sound of high heels clicking against the floor made Alec look up from his food and stare as Camille Belcourt marched up and sat down at the table.

"Um, hi?" Isabelle greeted her, phrasing it like a question.

Camille ignored her, but gave Jace an appreciative once over. Then she turned to Alec and smiled at him.

"Hello," she purred, reaching out for his hand.

"Hi," Alec said, just as confused as the rest of his siblings.

"I was just talking with Magnus Bane," she started. "We were wondering whether you're gay or not?"

Alec swallowed hard, his palms becoming almost unbearably sweaty. _Does she know?_ he wondered, _or is she just asking?_

Jaceglared at Camille. "Why do you care?" he asked. "Just leave him alone."

"I just find him cute," Camille said, smiling flirtatiously at Jace. "And I need to be sure of his sexuality before I ask him out."

Alec's heart pounded as his siblings jumped to his defense. He quickly put his things back in his lunchbox and stood up. "I'll see you guys later," he muttered to Izzy and Jace before almost sprinting out of the cafeteria. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm going to update every Saturday. Thank you for reading :)


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

 

 

 

**Magnus**

Magnus watched as Alec dashed out of the room. He clenched his jaw and tightened his fist, not noticing that he had crushed his still half-full milk carton until Clary reached over, holding out a napkin, and asked if he was okay. 

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Magnus replied lamely as he frantically dabbed the slowly spreading milk stain on his pants.

"It's that Lightwood boy, isn't it?" Raphael asked, and Magnus found himself very tempted to raise a certain finger in the air. 

Ragnor, overhearing their conversation, clapped his hands together and made an "ooooh" noise while wiggling his eyebrows. Raphael smirked and joined in. 

"Oh, go after him," said Clary crossing her arms. "You know you want to."

Magnus ran out of the room, ignoring the "ooooh's" from his friends. 

 

**Alec**

_Don't cry,_ Alec told himself over and over again as he made his way to the library. _Don't cry, don't cry, don't_ fucking _cry._

He didn't even bother going by his locker to put his lunch box away, even though he knew the library didn't allow food or drinks. He just needed to get away from everything for a few moments. He wondered what Izzy and Jace were thinking. They were probably wondering what horrible crime they committed in some past life for them to deserve such a loser brother.

For a while, the only sound in the empty hallways were his sneakers squeaking slightly on the glistening white floors. But, as he neared the library, he heard footsteps that got steadily louder and louder as they came closer.

He stopped and waited for whoever was following him to catch up to him. After all, what did he really have to lose?

Shocked wasn't even close to the right word to describe what Alec felt when he saw Magnus Bane round the corner. Magnus Bane was following _him?_ Alec felt a sudden sadness take over when he realized it was probably because Magnus wanted to tease him or something. 

"Alec!" Magnus greeted him, and Alec was reminded once again of how tall Magnus really was.

"Hi," Alec muttered, looking down at his feet. Maybe if he just kept quiet and didn't look up, Magnus would get bored and leave him alone. Then again, he _was_ nice to Alec earlier that morning...

"I saw what happened in the cafeteria," Magnus began, and Alec was surprised to see him shuffle his feet—it was almost like he was nervous. The idea was ridiculous, of course, because Magnus Bane never got nervous. 

"Oh great." It came out harsher and more sarcastic than Alec meant, and he bit his lip. 

There was an awkward silence until Magnus said in a relatively loud voice, "Camille's a bitch."

 

**Magnus**

As soon as he said those three words, he felt relieved. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. _Camille's a bitch._ He had been thinking it for a very long time—since the breakup—but he'd never dared to say it out loud before. 

He looked up when he heard Alec snort. His face was twisted in a strange way, and Magnus wondered if he was choking or in pain before he realized that Alec was simply trying (and mostly failing) to conceal his laughter.

As Magnus watched Alec, something rose up inside of his chest and a giggle flew out of his mouth unbidden and unexpected. He watched as Alec gave up trying to conceal his laughter and threw his head back. Magnus himself found a grin slowly spread across his face, and soon, he was full out cackling.

"Good thing nobody walked by while we were laughing," Magnus said five minutes later after most of the giggles had subsided. "They would've thought we were insane." He delicately wiped away the remainder of his tears. "If I had known this would happen, I would've worn waterproof mascara." 

He gazed at Alec and was struck again by how beautiful he was. Smiling suited him greatly—much more than a frown. His blue eyes sparkled with unfallen tears, and his cheeks were flushed light pink. 

He was certain that Alexander Lightwood was an actual angel.

 

**Alec**

He hadn't laughed like that in months. Really, he hadn't laughed much at all since he realized he was... He did find himself amused by several things, but never laughed. Not even when he, Jace, and Izzy watched Dumb and Dumber when his parents were out of town.

It was refreshing, like a breath of fresh air.

Alec opened his mouth to say something, when he heard _more_ footsteps pounding down the hallway toward where Magnus and Alec were standing. 

 

**Magnus**

"There he is!" Jace called out triumphantly, Isabelle on his heels. "Told you he'd go to the—"

They stopped abruptly when they saw who Alec was talking to. "Uh, hey," Magnus said, giving a slightly awkward wave. 

"Hey Magnus," Isabelle said, equally as awkward. Jace nodded his head. 

Everyone knew that, technically, Jace and Isabelle Lightwood could sit with Camille and Magnus at their table, but they had always chosen to sit with Alec. Magnus always admired that about the siblings; they always stuck together.

"Are you okay?" Isabelle asked, her eyebrows furrowed. Magnus noticed that, while it was clear that Alec and Isabelle were related, her eyes were the color of dark chocolate. They were nice, but Alec's eyes were gorgeous. And Jace, well, it was clear that Jace was adopted. His golden hair and golden eyes were the exact opposite of Alec and Isabelle.

Alec nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." Magnus was pleased to see that there was still a ghost of a smile on Alec's lips.

Jace patted Alec on the back. "C'mon, let's go back to the lunch room. I told Camille to fuck off."

As Jace and Alec began to walk back to the cafeteria, Isabelle sent Magnus a small smile before following them.

Magnus watched as they walked away back to the cafeteria. He had never thought about what it would be like if he had siblings, but at that moment, with a dull ache in his chest, he wondered if he would still feel so alone if he had siblings like Jace and Isabelle.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it Saturday already??


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

 

 

 

**Alec**

"I cannot  _believe_ Camille," Izzy fumed, her arms crossed in the front seat of the car. (She and Jace had fought for seven minutes over who had called shotgun first.) "I mean, I always knew she was mean and heartless, but I never expected her to just come right up and ask you if you were gay!" 

"Izzy—"

"I swear if she ever even _looks_ at me the wrong way, I'm gonna yank out her stupid hair extensions!"

"Izzy—" 

"Why do people even hang _out_ with her? Does popularity matter that much?"

"Isabelle!" Alec yelled, and Izzy blinked in surprise. "I'm fine, really."

Jace leaned in-between the two seats. "Are you sure? Because I have some friends on the basketball team who can mess her up."

"What, like, beat her up?" Izzy shot Jace a look. 

"Like you weren't daydreaming about doing the same thing," accused Jace. 

Izzy turned back around as Alec pulled into their driveway. "And what was _Magnus Bane_ doing there with you in the hallway anyway? Did he come after you?"

Alec avoided the question by pretending he was serious and focused he was to not scrape their parents' car. He sighed and pulled out the keys. 

"Okay, yeah, he came after me," said Alec. "He saw me run out of the cafeteria and was worried, or something like that."

"But why?" Jace pressed. 

"Um...we kinda walked into school together." 

"You mean I missed an opportunity to walk with Magnus Bane this morning?" Izzy asked incredulously. 

Alec shrugged. "Yeah..." 

There was a stuffy silence, and Alec and Jace were surprised to see Izzy burst out laughing. 

Jace and Alec both glanced at each other. "Is she having a seizure?" Jace asked. 

"No, you idiot!" Izzy chuckled. She sighed and leaned back in the seat. 

"What?" Jace was staring at her, wide-eyed. 

"I do believe that a certain Magnus Bane is _interested_ in our dear brother," Izzy grinned. 

Jace frowned. "Alec?"

"Obviously I'm talking about Alec. What, do we have another brother?" Izzy rolled her eyes. 

"Magnus Bane is not 'interested' in me, Izzy," Alec said. "He just came up to me because he saw how upset I was. It was nothing." As soon as the words came out of his mouth, an image of Magnus's face popped into his head, and he had to stop a smile from spreading across his mouth.

Izzy smirked. "Oh...I see."

Alec crossed his arms. "Seriously."

"Okay."

"Izzy!"

"What? I'm agreeing with you."

"I personally think you're being ridiculous," Jace said. "I didn't see anything special about the way Magnus was looking at Alec."

"And even if he does feel something about me—which is _very_ unlikely—I don't have those same feelings back, so..." Alec let the lie fade out. 

Izzy just hummed under her breath. "I gotta get out of this car; I refuse to sweat in this outfit."

As she got out, Alec and Jace shared a look. "She's insane," Jace said at the same time Alec said, "She's delusional." They stared at each other for another moment, then mutually agreed it was time to get out of the car. 

 

**Magnus**

He really shouldn't be surprised to find the house empty. The Bane Mansion was huge and beautiful, but sometimes it felt like the house could echo with the emptiness.

"Hello, Mr. Bane," the maid greeted him from the kitchen. "Would you like a snack? I could make you a sandwich or a salad...?"

"No thanks," Magnus said, shaking his head. "I'm not in the mood to eat." 

He turned away and stopped when he heard the maid ask, "Are you alright?"

Magnus turned, surprised. The maid gave a weak smile. "Not to overstep my bounds, of course."

"Oh, no, you're not," said Magnus, still surprised to do anything. He shook his head and cleared his throat. "Um, it's just been a day of...revelations."

"Oh?"

Magnus hesitated, then set his bag down and sat at a stool behind the counter. "It's just...this boy at school that's really cute. Beyond cute—gorgeous doesn't even really cover it. But he's not the most popular guy in school, and he's really insecure, and I don't think he's out yet. Like, out of the closet, you know. I also called this horrible girl at school—Camille Belcourt—a bitch, and it felt _really good._ And he has two younger siblings who are also quite good-looking and more popular than he is, and they're really close as a family, and I realized that..." He cut himself off before he told the maid that he wished he had siblings like Jace and Izzy.

The maid let out a low whistle. "Wow...that's a lot to hold in."

Magnus nodded in agreement, suddenly exhausted. 

"If I may give you a suggestion...take it slow with this boy. He sounds like quite a catch but also very insecure. Don't overwhelm him."

Magnus nodded. "Thanks." He stood up and asked, "By the way, what's your name?"

The maid smiled. "My name's Catarina Loss."

Magnus nodded. "I'm sorry I never asked before." 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, I had a play to perform at my camp.


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

 

 

 

**Magnus**

It took Magnus nearly two minutes to find his phone, which was buried under the multiple textbooks and papers his teachers had assigned for homework. To say he was annoyed to see who the caller was would be an understatement. 

"Hello, Camille," he sighed as he held the phone up to his ear. 

"Can you believe the Lightwood siblings?" she hissed angrily. "Especially the girl, Isabelle. Did you hear that she slapped me on the cheek in front of _everyone_ in the cafeteria? Who does she think she is?"

Magnus rolled his eyes. He knew from past experiences that it was better to let Camille die out rather than try to calm her down. 

"I even asked Jace and Isabelle if they would like to come sit with me at my table. You know I've always felt bad that they've been held back by their loser brother, and I _very generously_ offered, and _they said no_!" 

Magnus sighed and examined his nail polish. 

"Anyway"—Magnus could hear her fake nails tapping on what sounded like computer keys—"I've been trying to find out a little about Alec Lightwood. He doesn't have _any_ social media accounts. None! I did find out by looking in the yearbook that his full name is Alexander. Personally, I find the name 'Alexander' too majestic for such an unpopular boy."

Magnus mouthed _Alexander_ to himself and found that he quite liked the way it felt in his mouth. 

"He did appear in a couple pictures with his siblings, but nothing special about that." Camille sighed. "I just need to know if he's gay or not, since nobody seems to know. There are rumors of course. What do you think?"

 _I think you should leave the poor boy alone,_ Magnus thought, but he didn't dare say it. "I've never seen him date anyone, boy or girl," he said, which was true.

"I mean, he's obviously a virgin," said Camille, "you can just tell." There was another sigh. "To be honest, I don't understand why I care so much about it. I have so many boys in school who surround me, begging me to date them." Pause. "Maybe he's playing hard to get."

Magnus couldn't take it anymore. "Or maybe he's just not into you."

There was a shocked silence on both sides of the phone—Magnus couldn't even hear Camille breathe. 

"What?" she asked, her tone quiet and deadly.

Magnus didn't say anything, unsure of what to do. 

"How could he _not_ be into me? I mean, look at me!"

"I just think maybe if you hadn't just gone up to him in the middle of the cafeteria in front of everyone, and you instead waited until he was alone, it would've gone better." Magnus clenched his teeth together to keep himself from saying anything more. 

He nearly jumped in fright when he heard Camille's shrill laugh blast through the phone. 

"What?" Magnus asked, confused. 

"I just realized why you're being like this. Didn't you run after the Lightwood boy when he fled the cafeteria?" Magnus didn't like the tone of Camille's voice. "You have a crush on him. You have a stupid little boy crush on Alexander."

Magnus felt his face burn. "No, I don't."

Camille laughed, no, _cackled_ again. "Oh, yes you do."

"Just-just shut up," Magnus yelled blinking rapidly. Only Camille Belcourt could turn him into a sputtering mess. He didn't even know why he was so nervous. He was out. He had been out since he was in eighth grade. Everyone knew he was bisexual, and it wasn't a big deal. There was just something about Alec that made butterflies dance in his stomach.

"You know what?" Camille hissed. "I don't really appreciate the way you're talking to me. Don't expect there to be a seat at the table for you tomorrow."

She hung up before Magnus could say anything back. Sure enough, the next day at school, there wasn't a chair for Magnus to occupy. He couldn't say he was surprised.

 

**Alec**

"It's not that hard, Jace," Alec said around a mouthful of spaghetti. "Just think that ambi is like ambidextrous. Someone who is ambidextrous can write with both hands, so ambi means...?" He raised an eyebrow hopefully at the golden-haired boy sitting across the table at him. 

Jace just shook his head, and Alec sighed. "The defintion of ambi is "both", like ambiguous, and "around" like ambient."

"This is why you should've taken Spanish," Izzy said. She turned to Alec. _"El español es mucho mejor que el latín."_

"What does that mean?" Jace asked, and Alec just chuckled. Jace groaned. "I'm going to fail this test."

"If you needed help studying, you should've come to me before today," Alec said. "I could've made quizzes and flash cards and—"

Jace held up a finger, _shhh_ ing Alec. "Only you would get excited about helping someone with Latin."

"You take Latin?" a voice from behind Alec asked, and he turned around to see Magnus standing behind him with his lunch tray.

"Uh, yeah," Alec said, unsure of what to do. 

"I need help with Latin, too," said Magnus. "I don't really understand it. I have a test today."

"So does Jace," Alec said.

Magnus gave a small smile. "May I sit here?" he asked.

Izzy grinned, but Jace didn't seem as willing. "Why aren't you sitting with Camille and the rest of your little friends?" he asked. Izzy nudged him on the shoulder, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Ah, yes, I'm not exactly in Camille's good graces at the moment," Magnus explained. "She's mad at me."

"Why?" Jace asked. "What'd you do? Tell Camille her nail was a little crooked or her hair was a little too blonde?"

Magnus shifted his stance, and Alec could tell that he didn't want to answer the question.

"You can sit here," Alec said, surprising even himself. He scooted over on the bench to make more room.

"Thanks," said Magnus as he sat down. "I know most of the Latin, but I'm having trouble with a few."

"Jace is having trouble with all of them," Izzy added helpfully and smirked when Jace threw her a nasty look. _"Alguin está de mal humor."_

"I can help," Alec said. "I'm pretty good at Latin." He blushed. Why did he have to sound so conceited?

"He's being modest," Izzy said. "Alec has a knack for languages. He's helped me with Spanish so many times that he's picked up a little and can speak some sentences." 

"Izzy!" Alec said, cheeks hot with embarrassment. He shook his head and said, "It just comes naturally to me, I guess."

"Show-off," Jace muttered. 

Alec spent the rest of lunch so immersed in helping Jace and Magnus with their Latin that he didn't see Izzy's smile, Camille's glare, and almost didn't hear the bell signaling the end of lunch.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish translation: Spanish is much better than Latin. 
> 
> Second Spanish translation: Somebody's in a bad mood. 
> 
> I used Google Translate for the Spanish translation, so I apologize if it's incorrect. I also didn't know how to finish the chapter, and I'm not thrilled with the end, but whatever. 
> 
> Last thing: I made Izzy speak Spanish as a shoutout to Emeraude. I'm still holding out hope. #SaveShadowhunters


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

 

 

 

**Magnus**

The bell rang seconds before Magnus slipped into his seat in his Latin classroom. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw the teacher was still on her computer and hadn't noticed him. He sat down in his usual seat near the back of the room and looked up when he heard someone say, "Hey."

"Oh, hi," said Magnus, momentarily caught off guard when he saw Jace standing in front of his desk. 

"I need to talk to you, Bane," Jace said, sitting down in the desk next to Magnus's and casually slinging his backpack over the chair. 

Magnus raised an eyebrow. No one had ever called him "Bane" before. 

"What about?" Magnus asked, sitting back and lacing his fingers together. 

"Alec," Jace said, and Magnus perked up. 

"What about Alec?" Magnus asked. 

Jace was quiet for a moment, then said, "Izzy thinks you have a crush on Alec." He cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable. "I don't know if Alec feels the same way about you, or if he even likes guys, but...do you? Have a crush on my brother?"

Magnus didn't know what to say. What should he tell Jace? How would Jace react if he admitted that he did? 

Jace kept talking, "I mean, I don't care if you do. It's just...I've seen you around at the mall and stuff sometimes with Camille Belcourt? And..."

Magnus waved his hand as if he were swatting away a fly. "That was a long time ago," he said. "We broke up a long time ago." He felt a sudden sharp pain go through his heart momentarily as he thought of how heartbroken he had been when he had found pictures on Camille's Instagram of her hanging around several other guys and even kissing one. "She means nothing to me like that anymore."

Jace stared at him dead in the eye, almost as if he were searching to see if Magnus was telling the truth. "That better be true," Jace said. "Because—and don't tell him I told you this—he's never been with anyone before. Ever. Not even those stupid middle school crushes where you 'date' someone for a week, and then break up."

Magnus couldn't say he was surprised. Alec seemed like the type of person who would wait for someone he really liked to start dating. 

"I know Alec," Jace continued. "I know how shy and sensitive he can be, and some people are going to take advantage of that."

Magnus knew where this was going. "This is one of those family-member-to-partner talks isn't it?" he said. "When one family member says stuff that's super intimidating? Look, I don't even know what feelings Alec has towards me. I don't know if we're even friends yet."

"I get it. But if you two...you know...do...um..." 

"I won't hurt him." Magnus interrupted, sparing Jace the trouble of finishing his sentence. _He'll probably be the one to hurt me,_ he thought to himself. 

"You better not," Jace said menacingly. He sighed and dropped his head onto the desk. "I'm gonna fail this test," he moaned, his voice muffled. 

Magnus found he had the strange urge to rub Jace on the back comfortingly. 

 

**Alec**

The instrumental music playing softly through his earbuds as he was finishing up some geometry homework was interrupted briefly with the familiar sound of a text message being received. 

He paused the music and looked at who texted him. 

 **Unknown Number:** Hello Alexander. 

Alec blinked in surprise. He never got texts from people he didn't know, and no one except his parents ever called him by his full name. The only people he had in his contacts were his parents, Izzy, and Jace. 

 **Alec:** Who is this?

 **Unknown Number:** Magnus Bane.

 **Alec:** How did you get my number?

 **Magnus:** A little birdie gave it to me....

 **Alec:** Izzy?

 **Magnus:** Yeah.... Actually, I wanted to tell you that I took the Latin test today. 

 **Alec:** How do you think you did?

 **Magnus:** Decently. Have you asked Jace how he did? I remember hearing him moan several times during class. 

 **Alec:**  I tried, but he refused to answer me. Now he's outside throwing a tennis ball at the garage door and trying to catch it. It's best to just let him calm down. 

 **Magnus:** It's the same with Camille. It can get to be so tiresome sometimes.

 **Alec:** Are you comparing Jace to Camille?

 **Magnus:** Oops. I was also wondering if maybe you'd want to hang out sometime out of school. 

 **Alec:** ... This wouldn't be, like, a date, right? 

 **Magnus:** It can be if you want it to. Of course, if you don't, it doesn't have to be. I really just want to know more about you. 

 **Alec:** Because I don't like guys. I mean, I like guys, but not like that. 

 **Magnus:**  It's okay if you do, Alec. I talked with Jace, and he seems like a good guy. Isabelle seems great as well. They love you, and they'll continue to love you no matter what. 

 **Alec:** ...

 **Magnus:**  Anyway, it's the 21st century, and it's time for people to stop being homophobic idiots. 

 **Alec:** ... 

 **Magnus:** Alec?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School just started for me on Wednesday, and I'm on the cross country team, and I had to get up at 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday to go on a weekend run on this trail where I live with the rest of the team. 
> 
> Rant over. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! 
> 
> P.S. I hope it was clear that Alec wasn't answering Magnus's texts at the end.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

 

 

 

**Alec**

He sighed and clicked his phone off, resting it on the night stand. He had debated for a few minutes on whether or not to text Magnus back, and he had decided against it. What would he say to him anyway? Magnus sometimes intimidated him with the way he was always so calm and self-assured. Alec wished he could have even a third of Magnus's confidence. 

His phone went off, jolting Alec from his thoughts. He reached over, expecting to see Magnus's name light up on the screen—instead he was surprised to see that it was his mother calling him.

Alec took a deep breath and answered the phone. 

"Hey, Mom," he said. 

"Hello, Alexander." Maryse sounded the exact same since she and Robert had left on a business trip almost two months ago: stern, unfeeling, and with a no-nonsense tone to it. "I'm calling to let you know that your father and I are about to board a plane to come back home. We should arrive by the time you and Jace and Isabelle wake up tomorrow."

"You're coming home? Already?" Alec wasn't sure if he should be relieved that he didn't have to be the adult in the house for much longer, or if he should be worried that they were coming home a  week early. 

"Isn't that what I just said?" Maryse snapped, and Alec swallowed. 

"Yeah, I know, I just...I just wasn't expecting you to be home until next Wednesday."

Maryse was quiet for a moment, and Alec bit his lip, wondering how what he had said disappointed her this time. 

"There _is_ a reason we're coming home earlier than expected," Maryse said finally. 

Alec was tempted to joke, "Other than wanting to see your kids?" but he knew his mother would act as if he were accusing her of something. 

"Is it serious?" Alec asked instead, which he thought was a reasonable question. 

"No. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, Maryse hung up. 

***

The next morning, Alec woke up and came downstairs to see his parents sitting at the dinner table. Robert was dressed in a full suit and tie and was furiously tapping away on his phone with an annoyed expression on his face. Maryse looked remarkably well for a woman who had just flown eight hours from Paris to New York, but that didn't surprise Alec. His mother always looked flawless with her well-kept, straight black hair and sensible makeup on. 

"Good morning," Alec said, walking over to his parents.

"Good morning, Alexander," said Maryse. Robert gave a half grunt; the bare minimum to show that he acknowledged his son. 

"How was the flight?" Alec asked, walking over to the little basket of fruit they kept out on the counter. He grabbed an apple.

"It was fine," Maryse said. She glanced at the clock above the mantel. "Do you usually let Isabelle and Jace sleep in this late?"

Alec looked at the clock. "It's only 6:00," he said. "School doesn't start until eight, and it's only about a fifteen minute drive." He didn't feel the need to tell his parents that he, Izzy, and Jace had been almost late to school every day for the two months Maryse and Robert were gone.

The kitchen fell into an uncomfortable silence, and Alec felt like the loud crunching of his apple made the whole situation even more uncomfortable. 

"Um, would you like something to eat?" Alec asked eventually.

"What have I told you about saying the words 'um' and 'uh', Alexander?" Robert said, tucking his phone into his pocket. 

"Sorry," Alec mumbled. Ever since he, Izzy, and Jace were little, Robert taught them that to say "um" and "uh" and to have pauses in-between thoughts would be to show weakness. 

"Lightwoods don't show weakness," Robert said, and Alec nodded. 

"I know." Alec always felt like he should call Robert "sir" instead of "dad." Every conversation they had felt like a business transaction or a board meeting.

"I would like to speak to Jace and Isabelle," Maryse said. "Go wake them."

Alec sighed but didn't dare argue. He walked up the stairs and into Jace's room first, knowing he would probably be easier to wake up almost an hour early than Izzy. 

"Rise and shine," Alec murmured, flipping on the light switch. Immediately, the room was filled with a bright fluorescent light. Jace sat up slowly and blinked.

"Is it seven already?" Jace asked, blinking sleepily.

"No," Alec sighed, "but Mom and Dad are here and they want to talk to you and Izzy."

"Mom and Dad? But they're not supposed to be back yet." 

"Yeah, well, they're in the kitchen right now waiting for you two to get up, so get your ass out of bed and come downstairs." Alec walked out of the room, then walked back in and opened the curtains. It was relatively light out for it being so early.

With Izzy, Alec decided to lie and say that it was, in fact, 7:00, and to his great surprise, she fell for it. It still took thirty minutes until the entire Lightwood family was downstairs.

"Your hair is getting so long, Isabelle," Maryse said immediately, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth and shaking her head slightly. She looked Jace up and down and didn't say anything. Out of the corner of his eye, Alec saw Izzy roll her eyes at Maryse, and he shot her a warning look. Their parents didn't take kindly to eye-rolling.

"Why are you two back so early?" Jace asked. "You never come back early." In fact, Maryse and Robert were usually away for _longer_ than they said, not shorter.

"Yeah," Izzy chimed in. "Also, why are we all up at this ungodly hour?"

Maryse and Robert shared an apprehensive look, which caused the Lightwood siblings to share an apprehensive look.

"What's wrong?" Alec asked, furrowing his brow. 

"Did someone die?" Izzy asked.

"Nobody died, Izzy," Jace said. He hesitated. "Right?" He looked at Maryse and Robert.

"Actually, the exact opposite," Robert began, and for the first time in Alec's life, he saw his mother look nervous.

Jace cocked his head in confusion. "Well, the exact opposite of death is life, right? Did someone we know have a baby?"

Maryse's eyes flicked back at Robert, then at all her children. Suddenly, Alec knew what was happening.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" he asked.

Maryse sighed and slowly nodded. "Yes. I am pregnant."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was Alec-centric, but I really wanted to introduce Maryse and Robert into the story and to show their relationship with their kids.
> 
> Also—completely unrelated—I just ran 1.8 miles in 18 min. and 20-something seconds for my first cross country meet this year!


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

 

 

**Alec**

The Lightwood siblings gaped at their parents, speechless. Izzy was the first to recover. "What do you _mean_ you're pregnant?" she shrieked. 

"What do you mean 'What do you mean?' You know that when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much—" Jace began, but was interrupted by Izzy with an "Oh, shut up."

Alec blinked rapidly. "For how long?" he asked. "How long have you been pregnant?"

"Almost two months," said Maryse. "The due date is sometime in mid-to-late April."

Everyone was silent for a few moments, and once again, Izzy was the first to speak. "It better be a girl," she said. "I'm sick of being outnumbered."

 

**Magnus**

Magnus couldn't say he was surprised to see that Alec still hadn't texted him back the following morning when he woke up. He had a feeling he would have to make another move to get the oldest Lightwood to respond to him again. He considered what to say, before deciding to simply settle on a neutral "Good morning."

He was downstairs in the kitchen where he and Catarina were sharing a peaceful silence when his phone went off, startling them both. 

 **Camille:** I've decided to forgive you, Magnus. You can sit with me today at lunch.  <3

Magnus wasn't aware he had made a face until Catarina asked him what was wrong. 

"Just a girl I'm not always particularly fond of," said Magnus. 

"What does she want at seven in the morning?" Catarina asked. 

"She just wants me to sit with her again today. Apparently I'm back in her good graces."

Catarina raised her eyebrows. "And do you want to sit with her?" she asked gently. 

"Yes," Magnus said immediately, and Catarina just gave him a look. "Not really," he sighed, "but I don't really have a choice, do I?"

There was a long, drawn out pause, then Camille said, "Yes, actually, I think you do."

Catarina's words were echoing through Magnus's head all morning before lunch. Magnus knew that he did, technically, have a choice on whether he would sit with Camille or not, but then he imagined Camille's piercing eyes and how easily she could destroy him. Before he knew it, he found himself walking straight past the table where the Lightwoods sat, heading toward Camille. 

 _Don't look, don't look, don't look,_ Magnus repeated over and over, but his body ignored him. As he sat down, he looked over at Alec and felt a sharp pang in his gut at the hurt in Alec's blue eyes. 

 

**Alec**

_I shouldn't be mad he didn't sit with us,_ Alec thought. _He's his own damn person, and it's his own damn decision whether or not he wants to sit with us._ He cursed as he did his combination wrong and kicked the locker door. 

"Whoa," a familiar voice said from behind him. "Bad day?"

Alec clenched his jaw and ignored the voice. This time, his locker opened with a loud squeal, and he grabbed the textbook that he needed. On a whim, he plugged his earbuds into his phone and pretended to listen to some music. 

"Alec," he heard Magnus say. Alec could tell that Magnus was following him down the hall. "Alec, stop ignoring me."

 _You shouldn't have ignored me in the lunchroom,_ Alec thought bitterly. 

For a few moments, Alec didn't hear anything more, and thought Magnus had finally given up. That is, until he felt one of his earbuds being yanked out of his ear. 

"What the hell?" Alec yelled. 

"You're not even listening to anything," said Magnus, holding the earbud up to his ear. 

Alec snatched the earbud back and yanked the other one out. He shoved them into his pocket. "Fine. What could you possibly want?" Alec asked. 

"You just didn't answer me last night," said Magnus. "I just wanted to make sure I didn't make you feel uncomfortable or anything like that."

"Oh, I'm _so sorry_ I didn't respond to your _very important_ messages. I'll have you know that I was a bit preoccupied to notice. I don't just go home, do my homework, and then drift off and dream about being popular, you know." Some tiny evil part in Alec felt good when he saw Magnus take a step back with a shocked expression on his face.

"I-I know," Magnus stammered. "I'm sorry." He swallowed, and Alec, despite being angry at Magnus, found himself staring at Magnus's Adam's apple. "Is everything all right?"

"Huh?" 

"You said you were preoccupied last night. Is everything all right?"

"Oh." Alec felt the majority of the anger fade away. "Yeah, everything's fine. Just some surprising news is all." It occurred to him how dramatic he must have sounded, and he felt his cheeks go hot. 

There were a few moments of silence as they just kind of stared at everything but each other. Alec, who was already getting sick of awkward silences, opened his mouth to say goodbye, when Magnus asked suddenly, "Would you wanna hang out with me?" 

Alec blinked. "Um..."

"You don't have to, of course," Magnus ammended. "Just, uh, wondering."

Alec was completely unsure of what to say, and so, being the mature person he was, he decided to simply shrug and let Magnus take it from there. 

"No, that's cool," Magnus said, turning, obviously taking Alec's shrug as a no. 

"What would we do?" Alec blurted. 

Magnus turned back around. "Anything. We could just walk around for a while, maybe get something to drink...?"

Alec was surprised to find that he rather liked that idea. "Okay," he said, and by the way Magnus was looking at him, he could tell he had surprised him as well.

"Great," said Magnus. "So, what do you want to do?"

"I wanna do what you wanna do," Alec said, wanting to get to know Magnus a little better. "With limits, of course," he added hastily. He hoped Magnus wouldn't be offended. 

Alec watched, amused, as Magnus's eyes lit up with child-like excitement. "We could go to the mall!" Magnus said, looking as if he was trying very hard not to jump up and down. 

"Izzy likes it there," Alec said. "Maybe you should just go with her. I don't know anything about malls or fashion."

"But I don't want to go to the mall with Isabelle...right now," said Magnus. "I want to go to the mall with _you_."

"Yet you don't want to eat lunch with me," said Alec. It came out sounding much more wounded than he had intended. 

Magnus sighed. "It's...complicated," he said. 

"Okay, whatever, you don't have to sit with me, but why do you keep eating lunch with Camille? I know you don't like her," Alec argued. He didn't understand. 

"I like the people who also sit with Camille," Magnus explained. "Like Clary Fairchild and Raphael Santiago. Those two are my friends. And I don't see them leaving the table anytime soon, so I sit with Camille."

Alec had to admit that what Magnus was saying made sense. "I get that," he admitted. 

"Alright," Alec said. "Let's go to the mall." He bit back a chuckle; he never thought in a million years he would say those words. 

Right as they made it to the school parking lot, Alec felt his phone vibrate against his leg. He pulled it out and internally groaned when he saw the message. 

 **Mom:** I want you and Jace and Isabelle to come home right after school. 

 **Alec:** Jace has basketball practice, and Izzy has to stay late at school. 

 **Mom:** What has your sister done now?

 **Alec:** Nothing. It's some sort of extra credit work for one of her classes. 

Alec sent the lie, thinking, _Izzy definitely owes me one._ She was not staying late because of an extra credit assignment, he knew, she was staying late because she got in trouble because of a dress code violation and had to help out various teachers around the building for just about anything they needed.

 **Mom:** I still want you to come home immediately. And that's not a request. 

Alec bit his lip, once again unsure of what to do. Doubting himself and being oblivious was pretty much how he spent his whole life. 

"What's wrong?" Magnus asked. 

"My mom wants me to come home," he said. "Maybe she has some more news or something."

"Maybe we can do some shopping tomorrow then," Magnus suggested. 

Alec was about to agree with Magnus, but then something inside of him told him not to. Didn't he _always_ do everything his parents told him to do to the T? Didn't he _always_ get good grades, _always_ ask for extra credit assignments, _always_ behave the way they wanted him to? Yet Jace, who was a below average student, dated around, and didn't always pay attention to anything was the one his parents favored. If following orders didn't get him into his parents' good graces, then why bother?

"No." Alec was pleased with how firm and strong his voice sounded. "No, I don't want to go home right now. I want to go shopping with you."

Still, even with his newfound courage, Alec found he still wasn't brave enough to tell his parents a flat-out no. Instead, he made up some lie about a study group for Latin that Professor Starkweather had instructed they form. His mother didn't respond, and Alec knew she probably wasn't going to any time soon. 

He tucked his phone away and caught Magnus staring at him with a strange expression on his face. "What?" Alec asked. 

"Nothing. Just..." Magnus seemed to rethink what he was going to say. "Nothing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't feel like this was a very good chapter, but it was mainly just to set up Alec and Magnus hanging out tomorrow. 
> 
> I also wonder if anyone can guess who Maryse could possibly be pregnant with....


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be completely honest and say that I know nothing about fashion. I'm not as clueless as Alec, but I'm certainly no expert. I tried my best to make the fashion advice Magnus gives to Alec realistic, but if there is anything I could change to make it better, by all means tell me in the comments. <3

 

> **Chapter Nine**

 

 

 

**Magnus**

"So you've _never_ shopped for clothes at any other stores besides Target?" Magnus asked incredulously as they stood in line at the food court. 

"I went to Claire's once for Izzy's ninth birthday," Alec responded, sounding defensive. He paused. "Needless to say I've never been back."

Magnus shook his head in disbelief. The mall was practically his second home.

"So what stores are we going to first?" Alec asked once they had ordered a slice of pizza. Magnus could tell by his fidgeting and slight flush in his cheeks that he was nervous; a fact that Magnus found oddly attractive.

"I thought I'd let you decide," Magnus offered, and Alec's eyes glanced at the store names in front. 

"That's probably not a good idea," said Alec. "I really don't know anything about clothes."

Magnus looked at what Alec was wearing and found he couldn't bring himself to assure Alec his fashion was fine. 

"What?" Alec caught Magnus's judgmental look. "It's getting colder outside."

"Yes, but does the sweatshirt have to look so ratty?" Magnus sighed. 

"I got it a few years ago when we went on vacation," Alec explained. "It's my favorite."

"I should style you," Magnus said, laughing, then stopped to think it over. _I should style him,_ Magnus thought. _I could show him what he looks good in._ He grinned ear-to-ear at Alec. 

"What?"

"I'm going to style you!"

"What?!" Alec nearly choked on his pizza. "I thought you were joking," he continued once he had recovered. 

"I was," admitted Magnus, "but then I thought about it and realized how genius the idea was." 

"Izzy's been trying to style me for years," Alec said. 

"It won't be anything major," Magnus assured the other boy. "For example, you could start wearing clothes that actually show off your body."

Alec adjusted his sweatshirt self-consciously. "What do you mean clothes that show off my..." He trailed off, blushing. 

Magnus picked at the sleeve of Alec's sweatshirt and made a face. "I mean, look at what you're wearing. The top makes you look like a shapeless blob, and your pants are at least two sizes too big."

"I'm comfy," Alec said simply. 

"Wearing clothes that show off your body doesn't have to be uncomfortable," Magnus argued. "My number one rule for fashion: Dress like you're going to run into an ex." In fact, he ran into an ex every day at school. 

As they made their way around the mall, Alec said, "I don't actually have any exes."

"I figured," said Magnus, and Alec lightly hit him on the shoulder. 

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Alec asked. 

"You just seem like the kind of person who doesn't do things halfway," Magnus explained. "You're not going to go out with someone just because you want to or because everyone else is. You're going to wait and make sure there's something real between the two of you."

"How'd you figure out so much about me?" Alec asked. "We actually haven't  spoken a lot to each other yet, have we?"

Magnus just shrugged. "It's simple, really. I just observe people, and the way they act around others. Also, we've been going to high school together for the past three years, and I've never seen you with someone."

"Izzy and Jace are the ones who find it easy to make friends and just casually flirt with people," Alec told Magnus as they entered into a store. "I'm the oldest one in the family. I have to set a good example."

"You also need to live," Magnus said gently. Before Alec could respond, he found a dark green long-sleeved shirt that had buttons going all the way down. Magnus held it up to Alec and found that he rather liked the way Alec looked in green. 

"Here." Magnus thrust the shirt into Alec's hands. "Go try this on."

"But I haven't bought it yet," Alec protested. "And lots of other people have probably tried this shirt on too, and that means I'll be getting their germs."

Magnus crossed his arms unflinchingly and pointed to the dressing rooms. Alec groaned and walked in the direction Magnus was pointing. 

Five minutes later, Alec came back out, wearing the shirt and fiddling with the tags. Magnus slapped his hands away gently and gazed at the gorgeous work of art standing in front of him. It looked great on Alec, but perhaps it would look better if...

"How would you feel if you unbuttoned the top buttons?" Magnus asked. He moved closer and noticed the way Alec's breathing changed. The second he had undone the top two buttons, Alec had quickly buttoned the shirt back up, looking scandalized.

"I can't do that," Alec whispered, looking self-consciously around as if expecting a horde of people to be laughing and pointing at him. 

"Fine," Magnus sighed, "but I liked what I saw..." He shook his head. "But it doesn't matter if I like it: Do  _you_ like it? Number two rule for fashion: Don't wear something if you don't feel confident in it."

Alec didn't answer immediately, almost as if he were still deciding on his feelings about the shirt. Magnus was pleased when Alec admitted that it was a decent shirt. 

"We're buying it!" Magnus cheered. "Now all we need are some pants. Ooh and accesories! Do you happen to have a watch? Watches are timeless." He chuckled at his own pun.

Alec groaned.

 

  **Alec**

"C'mon, lemme take a picture," Magnus pleaded, holding up his phone. He had somehow convinced Alec to put on every article of clothing from his new outfit that was styled specifically for him and was now trying to get Alec to agree to a picture.

"Why do you need a picture?" Alec asked, biting his lip. "I promise I'll wear this to school tomorrow, and you can see me in it then."

"Alec..."

"Magnus..."

Sighing, Alec rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, alright, take the picture."

Squealing, Magnus positioned Alec right in front of the store's mannequins in the same pose with his hand on his hip and his head turned to his right.

As Magnus was snapping away on his phone, Alec could've sworn he heard Magnus muttering "Beautiful" under his breath, but Alec knew he must've heard wrong. 

After they had purchased the clothes—a process which had taken much longer than it really should've because Magnus refused to let Alec pay for anything—Alec suddenly realized how late it was getting.

"I need to get going," Alec said. "My mom's going to get suspicious of my study group lie. I'll just give you a ride home and then—"

"Shh," Magnus said, waving his hand flippantly. "I don't need you to give me a ride home, Alexander. I can just call our driver and have him pick me up."

Alec started when he heard his full name—no one ever called him that except for his parents—but he decided to ignore it.

"Are you sure?" Alec asked, digging in his pockets for the keys to his car. "It's really not that big of a deal."

But Magnus just shook his head and shooed him away.

***

Alec had barely stepped foot into the back hall when Izzy came running up, phone in hand. He couldn't tell whether she was excited or angry.

"Are you kidding me?" she yelled. "I've been begging you to go to the mall with me for _years_ , and then you just suddenly decide to go with Magnus? And you don't even invite me?"

Alec blinked, trying to process the stream of words that had come flying out of Izzy's mouth while simultaneously sliding out of his shoes.

He stopped when he realized what she had just said. How in the world did she know that he was at the mall with Magnus? What if she thought that meant something different than just two people hanging out? "What're you talking about, Iz?" he asked, deciding to pretend he was oblivious to everything she was saying.

"You know what I'm talking about," Izzy said, crossing her arms.

"Okay, first of all, I wasn't at the mall with Magnus or anyone else. Second of all, even if I were, you were in detention and couldn't have gone anyway." Alec walked away into the living room, and Izzy followed.

"I could've skipped," Izzy argued. "It's not like I haven't done that before. And, yes, you were at the mall, Alec. I have proof!"

"'Proof'," Alec repeated dumbly. 

Izzy nodded and held up her phone to her brother's face. Alec felt himself go cold at the picture of him in the store posing next to the mannequin. 

"Where did you get this?" Alec asked.

"Magnus posted it on Instagram," Izzy explained, and Alec felt his heart thud wildly in his chest.

"I have to go," he muttered and ran for the safety of his room. 

 _I can't believe he posted it,_ Alec thought to himself. _It's like he wants the entire world to know we went shopping together. As if that'll help the gay rumors. Even if they are true._ Alec clenched his fists as the last thought came into his head, but he forced himself to calm down. 

When he felt his heartbeat slow to its normal beating, he picked up his phone and called Magnus, who picked up on the second ring.

"Hello darling," Magnus greeted him warmly. "Enjoying the new outfit?"

"Why?" Alec asked, not pleased with how panicked his voice sounded. "Why did you post that picture of me to Instagram?"

"I thought it was funny," Magnus said, and Alec found himself growing angry at how calm and reasonable Magnus sounded. "And you looked good."

"But you didn't even tell me you were going to post it," Alec said, feeling his eyes burn.

"I'm sorry." Magnus's voice still sounded calm, but now there was a note of confusion mixed in as well. "I didn't realize you would get so freaked out by it."

"I'm not freaked out," Alec insisted.

"You're a little freaked out," Magnus said.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Alec said, the calmness of Magnus's voice frustrating him. "I mean, who could blame me? It's a picture. People can come up with all sorts of different backstories for pictures that aren't true. I bet half the school's already seen that picture of me and are convinced that you and I are dating, which is so stupid because I don't even like guys in that way. I'm not gay, Magnus, don't you think I'd know if I was?"

The silence was filled with the sound of Alec's heavy breathing until Magnus began, "Alexander, I'm so so sor—"

"I don't need an apology," Alec hissed. "I need you to delete that post." 

With that, Alec ended the call.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is it September already??


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitely not my best chapter, but here it is anyway.

**Chapter Ten**

 

 

 

**Alec**

"Nice sweatshirt, Alec," Jace said the next morning as he rushed down the stairs. "The holes really bring out your eyes."

"Since when are you the fashion police?" Alec mumbled, self-consciously folding his arms to hide the hole in his sleeve. 

"It doesn't take a fashion police to know that that belongs in the trash," said Jace, grabbing an apple off the kitchen counter. 

"Why aren't you wearing the outfit you were wearing in the picture?" Izzy asked, slowly walking down the stairs putting in an earring. 

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alec snapped, and Izzy's eyes narrowed. 

"So you're just going to pretend like this never happened?" she asked. "You're just going to run away and pretend you have no idea what I'm talking about? You can't hide from your feelings, Alec."

"Wow, thanks, Izzy. I had no idea you were going to become a therapist," Alec deadpanned. "Let's go; we're going to be late."

***

"Alec..." 

Alec spun around as he saw Magnus slowly approaching from behind him. 

"Alec, I think we should—"

"Do not say we need to talk," Alec interrupted, holding up a hand. Magnus stopped in his tracks. "I think we should stay away from each other."

Magnus's face crumpled. "You know I would never hurt you on purpose, Alexander."

"Don't call me that," Alec whispered, trying not to sound as scared as he felt. "Please, Magnus, just...just leave me alone." He slammed the locker door shut. "I'm gonna be late for class."

 

**Magnus**

He messed up. Big time. Alec wouldn't even _look_ at him. He glanced over across the cafeteria at where the Lightwood siblings sat. Maybe he could ask them how to get back into Alec's good graces. On second thought, maybe he should just ask Izzy—Jace didn't seem to like him. Almost as if he could read Magnus's mind, Jace looked up and glared at him. Isabelle looked up next and mouthed something at him.

He definitely should just ask Isabelle. 

As soon as the lunch bell rang, Magnus jumped out of his chair, mumbled some excuse under his breath to Camille, and followed the Lightwood siblings. He watched as Isabelle and Jace said bye to Alec. 

"Isabelle!" he yelled. They kept walking, and he chose to believe they simply didn't hear him, rather than ignoring him. He sighed, not wanting to run after them, lest he sweat in one of his favorite outfits, but he was willing to; he realized he would do just about anything for Alec, and that thought scared him. 

"Isabelle Lightwood!" he shouted again, and this time, Isabelle and Jace stopped and turned. 

"What do you want, Bane?" Jace asked, crossing his arms. 

"I need to talk to you about Alec," Magnus explained, and Jace rolled his eyes. 

"Haven't you done enough to Alec?" he said, and Isabelle shot him a look. 

Magnus sighed. "You have to know that if I had any idea how much that picture would affect Alec, I would've never posted it. I just thought... I thought he looked good in the photo, and I wanted the world to see that." 

"He's just so freaking repressed," Isabelle said, shaking her head. "If he could just be a little more open about things, he'd be so much happier."

"You have to help me apologize to Alec," Magnus said. He knew he sounded desperate, but he found that he didn't really care. "I've tried, but he won't listen to me."

"Oh, we do, do we?" Jace snorted. "We don't have to do anything for you. It's like you're saying the right things, but every day at lunch, you sit with Camille. If you really cared about Alec as much as you say you do, then you would sit with him at lunch instead."

"It's not that simple," Magnus said. The bell rang, but none of them made a move to leave. 

"Seems pretty simple to me," said Jace.

"Boys!" Isabelle's sharp voice rang out, and both Magnus and Jace stopped and looked at her. "Fighting won't get us anywhere." She turned to Jace. "I know you don't trust Magnus, but I can tell he's being sincere."

"Why do you never take my side?" Jace sighed.

"I took your side when you told Alec his sweatshirt belonged in the trash," Isabelle pointed out.

"Why do you never take my side about _stuff that matters_?" Jace amended.

Before the two of them could get into a full argument, Magnus cut them off. "So will you help me or not?" he asked.

"Yes," Isabelle said, before Jace had the chance to open his mouth and speak. "We will."

"Fine." Jace stared at Magnus. "But know that I'm doing this against my will."

"Noted," Isabelle said cheerfully. "Now we should really get to class."

 

**Alec**

_What are they doing?_ Alec wondered to himself as he stood outside the janitor's closet at the end of the day. "Guys, I'm really tired," he said, leaning against the wall. "Can we please just go home?"

"Not yet," Izzy said, her smile stretching from ear to ear. 

"Do you know what's happening?" Alec asked, looking at Jace. 

"Unfortunately, yes," Jace answered. "I just want it on the record that I don't condone any of this."

"Yes, Jace, you've mentioned that several times." Izzy sighed and rolled her eyes. 

"Yes, but I don't know if you're actually listening, or just nodding along so I'll shut up."

"Why would I just be nodding along, since it obviously isn't working?" Izzy snapped, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like "Idiot" under her breath. Alec had to bite back his laughter at seeing his younger siblings bicker back and forth.

Alec's eyes swept over the crowded hallways and stiffened as he saw a familiar figure walking towards him. 

"Guys," he hissed, "we need to go."

"Hang on!" Izzy hissed back. 

"I'm not afraid to leave you here," Alec threatened. "You can take the subway home, how about that?"

"Jace, Isabelle," Magnus said, nodding to both of them. He glanced briefly at Alec, but didn't say anything.

"Thank goodness you're finally here," Izzy said, and she threw open the door to the janitor's room.

"Izzy, what the—"

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt himself being pushed and was immediately enveloped into darkness as he heard the door slam shut.

 

**Magnus**

So this was Isabelle's plan. Magnus could say with complete honesty that this was not exactly what he had in mind when he had asked Isabelle to help him get back into Alec's good graces. 

"What the hell is happening?" Alec asked, sounding slightly panicked. "Why did Isabelle shove me in here?"

"I'm afraid I may have something to do with it," Magnus admitted.

"You asked my sister to shove us into a janitor's closet?" Alec asked.

"No. I want it to be made very clear that I didn't ask for _this_. I just wanted a way to make things right with you after the picture I posted yesterday."

"And she decided a janitor's closet would be the best way to do that?" Alec's voice was filled with disbelief. Magnus found he could not blame him.

"Apparently."

They fell silent, until Magnus heard Alec say, "I thought this kind of stuff only happened in movies."

Magnus shrugged and heard something clank as it fell to the ground. "They're your siblings," he felt the need to point out.

"Yeah, and you were the one who asked them in the first place," Alec countered. 

Magnus said nothing in return. He did, after all, have a very solid point.

"I don't hear any bonding in there!" Izzy shouted through the door, and Alec jiggled the handle on the door furiously.

"Let us out!"

But there was no answer. 

"It's a nice janitor's closet," Magnus said after a few moments of silence went by.

"No, it's not," Alec argued. "It's dark and cramped and smells like chemicals."

"True."

"You know," Magnus started again, "we could try to talk about what happened."

There was a pause, then a sigh. "Yeah, alright."

Magnus felt his heartbeat speed up in relief. "Great," he said. "I'll go first, if that's alright?"

"Go ahead."

"I just want you to know that I had a great time shopping with you, and I loved putting together an outfit for you, and when you put on the clothes I picked out, you looked so good that I wanted everyone to see what they were missing out on, so I posted it on Instagram, and I swear, Alec, the second you hung up on me, I deleted the post, and I know I should've asked you, and I'm really, really sorry that I didn't." Magnus paused to catch his breath. "Do you forgive me?"

"I was really scared," came a soft, shy whisper that sounded like Alec was on the verge of crying. "And I know I overreacted; I'm really sorry too."

Magnus felt a sudden urge to envelope Alec in a big hug, but he fought against it, knowing the boy would likely turn away from it.

"Why?" he whispered back, even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer. "Why were you so scared?"

There was a long drawn out pause that made Magnus regret asking, before he barely heard Alec answer, "You know why."

 

**Alec**

As the talking ceased, Alec suddenly became aware of how tight the proximity of the closet was and how close he and Magnus were standing together. He became conscious of everywhere they were touching—their feet, their knees. He didn't dare wiggle his fingers in case he accidentally brushed up against Magnus's hand. He swallowed and his nose almost grazed Magnus's nose. He licked his lips and knew that if he leaned forward, just the tiniest amount, they would land on Magnus's. He shifted, and he heard Magnus inhale sharply. 

Alec felt his heart pounding in his chest and, almost as if he wasn't in control of his body, he found himself leaning forward, just enough to make out the faint, fuzzy outline of Magnus's lips, and—

"Time's up!"

 


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to add Simon into the story, and I also didn't want to forget about Clary, which is why they're in here. I hope it doesn't seem completely random.

**Chapter Eleven**

 

 

 

 

**Alec**

"I swear, Izzy, nothing happened." Alec pushed open the car door and slammed it shut.

"I'm not saying that something did or didn't," Izzy argued, "I'm just curious. When Jace opened the door, you and Magnus both had the weirdest expressions on your faces."

"Leave it alone, Iz," Alec said, surprised by how exhausted his voice sounded. "I have tons of homework to do, including a five-paragraph essay about the book we're reading in language arts that's due in two days, so I just need some alone time, okay?"

"I just—"

"Izzy," Jace interrupted, and he shook his head slightly. "Don't." 

"I hate it when you two gang up on me," she muttered, but Alec was thankful when she let the matter drop. 

All wishes of alone time Alec had were immediately dashed the second they stepped in the house. They heard Maryse's laughter from the living room—the one she used when they had guests over—and the Lightwood siblings looked at each other with pained expressions. 

"It's the Branwells," Jace said, peeking around the corner. "They brought their daughter. What's her name?"

"Lydia," Alec answered. "I sit next to her in Latin. She seems nice enough."

"She sits at Camille's table," Izzy said. "That's an automatic enemy status in my book."

Alec braced himself as they slowly walked towards the living room. No matter how many guests his parents would have over or how many fancy parties they would throw or be invited to, Alec felt sure he would never get used to making small talk with people he saw once a year at a minimum. 

"...worry about them too," he heard Maryse saying. "I mean, Isabelle gets herself in detention every other day, and Alexander doesn't do anything noteworthy to make himself stand out in school."

"And Jace?" Mrs. Branwell asked. 

Alec heard his mother sigh. "Jace is...He's very talented at basketball, as you know, but I worry that's not going to be a good career for him. I wish I could convince him to go to medical school or perhaps law school."

There was a pause and a sigh, and Alec imagined his mother looking at her watch. "Where _are_ Jace, Alexander, and Isabelle?"

"Hey, Mom," Izzy said, walking into the living room and throwing her backpack on the floor by the ottoman. She ignored her mother's glare and opened the fridge, searching for something to eat. 

"Oh, good, you're finally here," said Maryse. "Where were you?"

"Studying," Jace lied. "Alec was helping me and Izzy."

"Don't you mean 'Alec was helping _Izzy and I_ '?" She delicately stood up and handed Isabelle's backpack to Alec, gesturing for him to hang it up on one of the hooks in the mudroom. "I was just telling the Branwells all about you."

"Fascinating," Izzy mumbled, closing the refrigerator doors shut. "Discussing yet again how your children have failed you?" she continued as she threw a grape in the air and caught it in her mouth. Alec was mildly impressed. 

Maryse's lips tightened, but she continued to speak. "I assume you know the Branwells," she said, gesturing to the family. "We see them every year at the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine ceremony. This is Mr. and Mrs. Branwell and their daughter, Lydia. Alexander, don't you have Latin with her?"

Alec nodded. "We sit next to each other."

Lydia waved. "Hey," she said, sounding awkward and embarrassed. 

"Well, now that you're all here, it's time for us to talk alone," said Maryse, her tone now even more brisk and no-nonsense. "You four can go up to one of the bedrooms and talk up there."

Silently, Jace led them all to his bedroom and shut the door softly. He threw himself on his bed and began absentmindedly scrolling on his phone. 

"So..." Izzy started off, rocking back and forth on her feet slightly. "How are you today, Lydia?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Lydia said. Her teeth were so white that when she smiled, it almost made Alec want to squint. "How are you?"

"Good, thanks." 

Alec stared studiously at the floor, ignoring Izzy and Lydia's flickering gazes on him. He had nothing really to say to Lydia, and he knew what Izzy wanted to talk about. Was it so hard for him to get some time to himself?

Izzy cleared her throat loudly. "Anyway, Alec, didn't you say you had some homework you need help with? We should go to your room, so I can—"

"So, Lydia," Alec interrupted, "what do you like to do in your free time?" 

Izzy glared at him and crossed her arms. Alec ignored her. 

"I barely have any free time anymore," Lydia began. "I mean, I have ballet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and on the weekends, I have speech team on Tuesdays and Thursdays, on Fridays..."

Alec slowly tuned her out as she kept listing the many different activities that kept her busy. He didn't understand how a person could have so much on their plate, or why they would. He was already exhausted just from going to school every day—mentally, physically and, since meeting Magnus Bane, emotionally, too. 

"...but I also like to sew," Lydia finished, and Alec snapped his head up. "So, to answer your question, I like to read and sew."

"That's _so_  interesting. Alec enjoys reading as well," Izzy butted in. She turned to Alec and began dragging him towards the door. "Maybe he can get one of his favorite books from his room to show you; I'll go with him—"

"Izzy!" Alec hissed, yanking his arm away. He didn't miss the look Lydia gave Jace, who was still glued to his phone. He guessed he couldn't blame her; he would think his family was a little strange, too. 

"What kind of stuff do you like to sew?" Alec asked, and Izzy rolled her eyes. 

"Are you serious?" she asked as Lydia began talking. "You'd really rather listen to her go on and on about whatever stupid stuff you come up with than talk to me about Magnus?"

"Um, yeah," Alec nodded, and Izzy rolled her eyes. 

"Fine!" Izzy threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "I give up— _for now_. I'll come back later." She backed out of the room, and Alec wasn't at all surprised to see that Lydia was too engrossed in what she was talking about to notice or care. 

 

**Magnus**

Magnus ran a bejeweled finger over his lips gently and shivered as he imagined what they would feel like pressed up against Alec's.

Because Alec had been shifting closer and closer to make a move, right? Magnus was 99 percent sure, but there was still that one percent that wouldn't leave him alone. If only the other Lightwood boy hadn't thrown open the door before Alec could do anything more. _Stupid Jace,_ Magnus thought. _Stupid hair, stupid face, stupid name. Stupid, stupid, stupid name._

He shook his head and looked around at the trees in Central Park. It was September and leaves were starting to fall. Magnus's favorite season was fall; he loved to see the orange and red and yellow leaves swirl down from the heavens and land softly on the pavement. He loved the satisfying sound of leaves crunching beneath his feet. Also, he always seemed to look good in the warm orange glow of fall lighting. (Oh, who was he kidding? He looked good in almost any lighting. Except fluorescent. Nobody looked good in fluorescent.)

He looked up as he heard a familiar bright laugh float over him. He saw a familiar red-haired girl come walking towards him; right next to her was an unfamiliar guy with dark brown hair and glasses. He was wearing a Star Wars T-shirt. The boy didn't go to Idris High, did he?

"Biscuit!" Magnus called fondly. Once a source of constant annoyance, the nickname was now a term of endearment between Magnus and Clary, who was a year younger than him. 

"Oh...hey, Magnus," she said, shifting where she stood. "What're you doing here?"

"Last time I checked, this was a public park," said Magnus, chuckling softly. He looked over at the strange boy. "Who's this?"

"The name's Lewis," the boy introduced himself. He snapped his fingers and pointed at Magnus. "Simon Lewis." He grinned, and Clary facepalmed. 

"Sorry," said Clary, blushing lightly. "He likes to pretend he's James Bond."

"Not just any James Bond; the original one," the boy corrected. "Sean Connery will forever be the one for me."

"Sounds like you're in love," Magnus joked, and the boy laughed. 

"Anyway, we should probably get going—" Clary began, already starting to walk away. 

"Wait," Magnus said. "You don't go to Idris, do you?"

The boy—Simon?—shook his head. "Nah, I go to Hunter College High School."

Magnus blinked. That wasn't what he had expected to hear. "Isn't that school for, like, above average kids?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, but that makes it sound super pretentious." He looked down at Clary. "Clary and I went to the same elementary and middle school, but my mom thought I wasn't 'being challenged enough in school' or something like that. We hang out when we have free time and just geek out over the latest stuff."

Magnus felt a slow smile creep its way onto his face. "What kind of stuff?" he asked. He looked at Clary. "I didn't know you had a nerd side!"

"Oh, shut up," she muttered with no real heat behind the words. 

The boy nodded. "We mainly talk about the latest mangas that have come out recently. Like _The Legend of Zelda_ or _Attack on Titan_. She says she can't talk about it at school—she doesn't think anyone'll get it—so she saves it all up for me, and then, like, barfs it all out when we hang out."

"Simon!" Clary knocked him in the shoulder. She glanced over at Magnus. "I just read mangas when I'm bored at home with nothing to draw."

Simon. That was the boy's name. Magnus tucked that piece of information in his head to (hopefully) remember this time. 

"We wanna write our own manga or graphic novel," Simon continued. "Wouldn't that be so cool?"

Clary's phone beeped, and she pulled it out to look at it. She tapped the screen a couple times, then looked up to see Simon and Magnus staring at her. 

"I'm late for a sleepover," she explained. "We're going over to Camille's house tonight since Lydia's parents are back." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed the boy goodbye on the cheek. "See you two later." 

Magnus watched the boy watch Clary walk off in the distance. He could tell by the way he was looking at her that he liked her; maybe he even loved her. 

"Well, I gotta go," Magnus said, realizing it was getting late, and Catarina would probably get worried. 

"Yeah, okay, see you later...Magnus, right?"

"Yeah. Well, _au revoir, mon cher_ Stanley." 

As Magnus walked away, he could've sworn he heard Stanley yelling something about his name, but he ignored it and kept walking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation: Au revoir, mon cher Stanley = Goodbye, my dear Stanley. 
> 
> I'm in French II at school, and I'm trying to incorporate it into my everyday life.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

 

 

**Magnus**

It had been a long, painfully slow month since he had talked to Alec Lightwood or any of the other Lightwood siblings. He had wondered briefly if Alec had told them about the moment in the janitor's closet, but he doubted it very much. He saw the three of them sitting at their usual lunch table every day, and his heart ached when he saw Alec's lips quirk up into a cute smile.

They hadn't even texted, either. Magnus was used to being confident and sure of himself in relationships, but when it came to Alexander Lightwood, he was a complete and utter mess. 

He was at his locker at the end of the day on Friday, when he heard a feminine voice behind him say, "I wanna talk to you." 

Magnus turned around and was surprised to see Isabelle Lightwood standing with her hand on her hip in dark black stilettos; her long black hair was loose and wavy. Magnus could see the similarities between Alec and Isabelle—except for the eyes. While Alec's was a clear blue, Isabelle's were a fierce dark brown. 

"Oh, Isabelle," said Magnus, sounding ten times more casual than he felt. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

He had barely gotten the sentence out of his mouth before Isabelle grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and began pulling Magnus behind her. 

"Where are we going?" Magnus asked. When she didn't answer, he continued. "Please tell me you're not taking me to another janitor's closet. I have much better things to do." _Like pine hopelessly over her older brother?_ a voice inside his head responded. 

To Magnus's relief, Isabelle yanked open the door to the staff bathroom and pushed him inside. When the door banged closed, she sighed. "Okay," she began, "you might be wondering why I dragged you in here."

"Just a little," Magnus agreed. 

"Look," she said, ignoring him, "both Jace and Alec would murder me if they knew I was telling you this, but—"she took a deep breath—"tomorrow is Alec's eighteenth birthday. Jace and I are taking him out for some pizza for dinner, and I want you to come."

Magnus arched an eyebrow. "What about your parents? Are they going to be okay with me tagging along?"

"They're buried in work right now," Isabelle replied. "They already told us that they won't have time to go out and celebrate with us. It's not a big deal, really. They missed my birthday last year, too."

Magnus blinked in surprise. The thought had crossed his mind that Alec's parents weren't always there for their kids. He bit his lip and furrowed his brow. 

"I don't know, Isabelle." He shook his head. "Alec doesn't really seem to want to talk to me, and Jace obviously doesn't like me..."

"Oh, he likes you fine," Isabelle interrupted. "Just think of it like he's the opposite of a hypocrite: he says mean stuff to people's faces and praises them behind their backs. It's kinda twisted, but that's how he rolls. He also just gets really protective over Alec sometimes."

Magnus laced his fingers together and looked at Isabelle dead in the eyes. "Alright," he agreed. "I'll come."

Isabelle squealed and clapped her hands. She stopped suddenly and looked at Magnus, panic suddenly filling her eyes. 

"Oh my God," she cried. "He has absolutely _nothing_ to wear!"

 

 

**Alec**

"I'm not wearing a tie, Iz," Alec argued, batting his sister's hands away.

"But the color matches your eyes _perfectly_ ," Izzy shot back, holding up the tie next to Alec in the mirror to emphasize her point. "Don't you wanna look nice for your birthday?"

"I can look nice without a tie, you know." Alec crossed his arms, not understanding why she was obsessing over what clothes he was wearing. Sure, she teased him on a daily basis about the old sweaters he wore, but she didn't usually go this crazy. 

"But Alec—"

"Hey," he interrupted, "I covered for you when you had to stay after school for violating the dress code, remember? You owe me one."

Izzy's jaw dropped. "That was, like, a month ago! You can't hold that over my head!"

Smiling, Alec crossed his arms, feeling very satisfied. "I can, and I did," he said, and Izzy growled and threw the tie on his bed. 

"At least promise me you'll wear something that actually looks halfway presentable," Izzy pleaded. 

Before Alec could answer, he heard his mother call from downstairs, "Alexander! Jace! Isabelle! I have something I need to tell you."

 _Saved by the bell,_ Alec thought. 

 

***

 

"What's the news?" Jace asked once the entire Lightwood family had convened in the living room.

"It's about the baby," Maryse started, and Izzy gasped. 

"I've been meaning to mention that," she said. "I've started writing down some names that I like. I wrote them down somewhere; let me go and get it—" Izzy began to leave the room before she saw Maryse hold up her hand. 

"Isabelle," Maryse interrupted sharply, her dark eyes narrow. She glanced over at Robert who was frowning at his phone and sighed. "I just wanted to tell you that your father and I went to the doctor today, and we know what the sex of the baby is."

Once again, Izzy gasped. " _Please_ tell me it's a girl."

"It's a boy," said Maryse, and Alec bit his lip to hide a chuckle as he watched his sister's face fall. 

"Oh, c'mon!" Izzy groaned, her voice muffled as she covered her face with her palms. 

"Ha!" Jace yelled, grinning. He turned to Maryse. "You're gonna name him after me, right? Jace Lightwood Jr. has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"We've already decided on a name," Maryse answered, and this time, it was Izzy who laughed as Jace's face fell. "His name is Maxwell Joseph Lightwood; Max for short."

"And everything else with the pregnancy is still healthy, right?" Alec asked, and Maryse nodded. 

"Yes, Max is still expected to arrive in mid-to-late April," she said. 

Everyone fell silent as they thought about this new information. Alec noticed that during the entire time his mother was talking about the baby, his father had not looked up even once to join in the good news. Even right now Robert Lightwood was still glued to his phone. 

"Well," began Jace, "I still think naming him after me would be better. In fact, I might start a petition."

 

 

**Magnus**

There was a soft knock on his door, and Magnus heard Catarina's soft voice gently ask, "Would you like something to— Oh my Lord, what is going on?!"

Magnus walked out of his closet and flashed a smile at Catarina. "What do you mean?" he asked as nonchalantly as possible. 

"What do you mean, What do I mean?" Catarina asked incredulously. She gestured to the floor of Magnus's bedroom, which was covered with pile upon pile of various clothing items. "Are you purging your wardrobe?"

"Not at all," said Magnus cheerfully. "I'm just trying to find something appropriate to wear."

Catarina set a glass of lemonade down on the dresser and crossed her arms. "I'm gonna need an explanation here," she said. 

"Isabelle Lightwood has invited me out to a birthday dinner for Alec with her adoptive brother Jace," Magnus explained. 

"And Alec's the one you like?" Catarina asked, and Magnus nodded affirmative. 

"As you can tell, I have been searching for something to wear to this birthday dinner, and have yet to find anything suitable." As Magnus spoke, he realized how frazzled he felt. 

Catarina walked gingerly around the piles of clothes and peered into his closet. "How in the world do you _still_ have so many clothes left?" she asked. 

"Well, the ones in here are the ones I've decided are alright to wear," Magnus explained, "but I haven't found anything that screams 'Alec Lightwood's eighteenth birthday' yet." He leaned against the door frame. "Picking out clothes is supposed to be easy, Cat. Why is it suddenly so hard now?"

"Because you have true feelings for him," explained Catarina. "You want him to accept you, and the clothes you wear is part of that."

Magnus looked at Catarina admiringly. "How do you _always_ know what to say?"

Catarina shrugged and stepped out of the closet. "Let me ask you something, Magnus. One kind of style does Alec have?"

Magnus winced as he thought about what he saw Alec wearing yesterday. Catarina chuckled. 

"I'll take that as my answer," she snorted. "And do you care that his fashion sense isn't the best?"

"Of course not," said Magnus, scoffing slightly. "He'd look beautiful in a trash bag."

"Then if this boy feels the same way about you as you do about him, he'll think the exact same thing," said Catarina, smiling warmly. "Now, I want you to choose your favorite shirt and your favorite pair of pants, alright? Then, I want you to put on as much glitter as you want and feel confident."

As Catarina left the room, Magnus found it hard to stop smiling to himself. 

 

 

**Alec**

"Why do you keep doing that?" Jace asked, staring at Izzy.

"Hmm?" Izzy asked, sounding as if her thoughts were a million miles away. 

"Why do you keep looking over at the door?" Jace asked, flipping through the menu. "Are you expecting someone?"

Izzy turned back to look at Jace. "I'm not doing anything."

Jace tilted his head to the side, almost as if he were contemplating asking her something, then shook his head and took another breadstick from the basket in the center of the table. 

"Why do you even bother going through the menu?" Alec asked. "We come here every year for my birthday; we have our order memorized by heart."

Jace shrugged. "I don't..." He trailed off, staring at something just above Alec's head.

"What?" Alec asked, turning around. He froze when he saw who was walking through the door. 

His black hair was up in sharp mohawk, and in the low light of the restaurant, Alec could make out the faint shimmer of what looked like glitter on his cheeks. He wore a dark gold and black suit with long, tight-fitting black pants. 

"What is _he_ doing here?" Jace asked, clenching and unclenching his jaw. 

As Magnus made his way over to the table, Alec and Jace both turned to Izzy. "Did you invite him?" Alec asked her, already knowing the answer. 

"Maybe," she said, but Alec could still see the faint curl of a smile on her lips. 

"Why?" Alec and Jace asked in unison, but Magnus arrived at their table before Izzy could answer. 

"Hey!" she greeted him brightly. She stood up and hugged a shocked Magnus tightly. After a few seconds went by, he hugged her back. 

Alec watched as Magnus moved to sit in a chair diagonal from Alec, when Izzy stopped him and said, "No, no, you go sit by Alec."

"Um..." Magnus began, and Izzy shot Jace a look. Jace saw it, but refused to move. Alec felt a sudden rush of gratitude towards Jace. He had made it a month without speaking to or texting Magnus—admittedly, it had been harder keeping his distance than he had originally thought. 

"I'm sure Jace wouldn't mind switching seats," Izzy hissed through tightly clenched teeth. 

"Actually, he would mind," Jace retorted. 

"It's alright," Magnus jumped in quickly. "I'll sit anywhere, it's really not a big deal."

Izzy crossed her arms and glared at Jace. "Look, if you don't move, I'm gonna tell Alec and Magnus about your little crush on—"

Jace jumped up so fast he almost knocked over the water glass in front of him. "Shut up, Izzy." He glanced over at Magnus, who was still standing awkwardly in the aisle. "Fine. He can sit here." 

As soon as Magnus sat down, Alec was hit with a whiff of something musky that smelled a little like wood. He assumed it was some sort of cologne or perfume Magnus had put on. He had to admit that he actually did like it quite a bit. 

"So, we usually get a large pizza, half pepperoni half cheese," Izzy said, "but you don't have to get that if you don't want, Magnus."

"No, that sounds good," Magnus agreed, and Alec felt his silky voice wash over him. Magnus's voice was so calm that it relaxed Alec entirely. 

An awkward silence fell over the table, which was thankfully interrupted by the waitress coming over and taking their order. By the time the pizza arrived, the silence had become so unbearable that Alec was considering making up a lie about feeling sick just so he could leave. 

"Hey, Jace," said Izzy, "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Gross, Iz. TMI," said Jace, cutting into the pizza. 

"No, just—" Izzy looked frustrated. "Don't you have to go to the bathroom to, I don't know, fix your hair or something?"

Jace shook his head. "My hair always looks good," he said, and Alec let out a sharp laugh when Izzy stretched across the table and ran her hand through Jace's hair, ruffling it up. 

"Izzy!" Jace yelped, jumping up. He tried valiantly to calm his hair, but it didn't work; the blond locks stood out like he had been touched by static. "Thanks a lot," he muttered, stalking off to the bathroom. 

"Well, I gotta go, too," Izzy said. 

"Wait, Isabelle—" Alec started, but she was gone before he could finish. 

 

 

**Magnus**

They were alone. They were sitting right next to each other, and they were alone. They were almost sitting closer than they had been in the janitor's closet. Even with the loud chatter of people from nearby tables, Magnus could still hear and see and feel Alec's soft breaths. He wondered if Alec was as affected by him as he was by Alec.

"So," Magnus started, "you're turning eighteen, right?"

Alec nodded as he twirled his breadstick into some nacho cheese sauce. "It's not that big of a deal," he said. "It's not like I can drink or anything. Not that I would if I could."

"Well, if you ever happen to find yourself in the U.K., you actually are allowed to drink," said Magnus. "The drinking age is eighteen over there."

"I'll put that on my To-Do list," Alec replied dryly. 

With nothing else to do, Magnus took a slice of pizza and began to eat it. He was halfway finished with it, when he put it down, carefully wiped all the grease off his fingers and turned to face Alec. 

"We should probably talk about what happened," said Magnus. "I get the feeling that Isabelle knows something almost happened between us, and she wants us to talk it over."

Magnus immediately winced as soon as the words came out. After all, he still wasn't 100% sure that something _had_ been about to happen. 

"Yeah..." Alec admitted reluctantly. "I hate it when Izzy's right."

"So... What exactly _did_ almost happen?" Magnus asked. 

"I don't really know," Alec replied, his words slow and thoughtful. "I am really sorry, though."

Magnus looked at him surprised. "Why are you sorry?"

"Oh, you know..." Alec trailed off. 

"I actually don't," said Magnus. "You didn't do anything that warrants an apology, Alec. At least, nothing that concerns me."

Magnus watched as Alec's long, skinny fingers played with the napkin in his lap. 

"I'm going to ask you something," Magnus started, "and I don't want you to freak out or think I'm trying to make it something that it wasn't, okay?" He waited until Alec nodded to keep going. He took a deep breath. "Were you about to kiss me?"

There was a long pause, and Magnus waited as patiently as he could, carefully watching Alec's face. 

Eventually, Alec sighed and slowly nodded. Magnus felt his heart skip a beat or two. 

"And...if Jace  _hadn't_ opened the door...would you have?" Magnus asked, and once again Alec hesitated. 

"I...I think so," Alec whispered, and Magnus saw his hands tremble slightly. 

"Hey, it's okay," Magnus comforted him. "There's nothing wrong with that, okay? Absolutely nothing."

Magnus reached over and squeezed Alec's hand tightly for a few moments, before returning back to his pizza right as Jace and Isabelle walked out of the bathroom. 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go listen to Come Alive by Beth Crowley. It's based on the book City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare. (No spoilers!!)

**Chapter Thirteen**

 

 

 

**Alec**

He had to tell someone. Every time he saw either Jace or Izzy, he felt a strange ache in his chest. He wondered what they would do if he just walked up to them one day and blurted out, "I'm gay." He was relatively certain that his sister wouldn't shun him for it; he already had the feeling she'd invited Magnus on purpose to his birthday dinner. But...how would Jace react? He was the epitome of straightness. Would he be understanding, or would he turn his back on him? Alec knew how his parents would react; he didn't know if he could handle it if Jace turned his back on him.

For the past two nights, before he fell asleep, Alec ran through the different ways to tell his siblings. Once, he was so sick of carrying around this secret, that he was about to bust down Izzy's door and tell her then and there. Another time, he had considered writing it down on a piece of paper and sliding it under Jace's door or through the vents in his locker. 

Or...he supposed coming out to Magnus was another option, especially since he had probably gone through the same thing at some point in his life. But Alec figured that he still didn't know Magnus all that well; besides, Izzy and Jace were family, and he wanted them to know first. 

"Hey, we're actually on time today," Jace said as Alec pulled into the parking lot. Alec nodded, not really hearing what Jace was saying. 

"Are you okay?" asked Izzy. Alec froze, unsure of what to do or say. Could this actually be his chance to say those two simple words out loud? 

"I..." The words got stuck in Alec's throat, and he coughed and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a lot on my mind."

"Me too," agreed Jace, opening the car door and jumping out. "We have our first game in a couple weeks, and the team is _still_ struggling. Plus there's this new guy named Raj, and he's actually pretty good at free throws, but he sucks at defense."

Izzy shook her hair out and pulled her tight dress down. "You think _that's_ stressful?" she asked incredulously, glaring at Jace. "I'm practically failing geometry, and I have a test in it today. Do you know what Mom and Dad will do to me if I don't get my grade up? The only class I'm doing well in is Spanish, and of course that's the one class they don't really care about."

Jace snorted. "Oh, that sounds _soooo_ bad," he retorted. "Do you understand how embarrassing it would be if we lost our first game of the season? Did you know that for the past nine consecutive years Idris High has won the first game of the season?" 

"Yes, because basketball is so much more important than grades and not getting on Mom and Dad's bad sides." Izzy rolled her eyes. 

As his siblings bickered back and forth about which was more stressful: basketball or grades (personally, Alec thought grades were more stressful), Alec tuned them out and once again felt that little flutter of nervousness and anticipation in his heart. 

"Look who's coming," Jace broke off, glaring across the parking lot. Alec and Izzy turned and groaned when they saw a halo of blondness coming towards them. 

"Well if it isn't the Lightwood siblings," said Camille, her voice silky and smooth. "What a coincidence!"

"You do realize that we see you every day at lunch, right?" Izzy pointed out. Camille ignored her. 

"I like what you're going for here, Alexander," said Camille, peering up at Alec. 

Alec self-consciously patted his hair. "What're you talking about?" he asked. 

"The messy bedhead thing," Camille answered. "It's _very_ sexy. You know, when Magnus and I dated, he always had his hair up with all sorts of colors and glitter. It was annoying."

"I like Magnus's hair," Alec said. As soon as it came out of his mouth, he cringed. _Way to go, Alec,_ he mentally yelled at himself. _Could you have been_ more _obvious?_

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I did too—at the beginning." Camille let out a soft chuckle and waved her hand as if shooing away a fly. "But that's all water under the bridge now."

"What do you want, Camille?" Jace asked abruptly. "We seriously don't have time for your crap."

Camille shot Jace a look out of the side of her eye. "I'm simply striking up a conversation with a simply striking young man," she said. She reached out and brushed the sleeve of Alec's sweatshirt. Her fake nails were so long and sharp that Alec could feel them scratch his forearm through the fabric.

"Um—" Alec jerked away. _"Don't."_

Camille's sky blue eyes darkened with anger, but it was gone before Alec even had a chance to blink. "Whatever," she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I am curious whether or not you're doing something after school today...or maybe we could cut class...?"

Alec cleared his throat loudly. "No. Uh, thank you, but no."

Camille pouted and opened her mouth, but before she could, Izzy stepped forward and hissed, "Take a hint! Alec doesn't want to have anything to do with you. Leave him alone!"

"Shut up, Elizabeth," Camille yelled back. 

"It's Isabelle," Izzy corrected, her dark brown eyes flashing. "Friends call me Izzy. You can call me Isabelle."

"What's going on?" another voice asked, coming from nowhere. Alec glanced over and saw Magnus Bane stroll up to where they were standing, as calm and collected as ever. 

"Just having a little chat with Alec here," said Camille. 

"Well, we should probably take this chat somewhere else," Magnus advised. "And by 'somewhere else', I mean, we need to stop standing in the middle of the parking lot."

Realizing how right he was, the group shuffled over to the entrance of the school and stopped. 

"See?" said Magnus brightly. "Now we can chat with each other without the threat of being hit by a car!" 

Before any further "chatting" could happen, the warning bell rang, signaling that there were five minutes left until school officially started. 

"We should probably get going," mumbled Alec under his breath. 

"Aw man!" Jace complained. "Why can we _never_ make it to school on time?"

 

 

**Magnus**

The moment he saw Camille in the parking lot talking with the Lightwoods, Magnus knew she was up to something. She despised Jace and Isabelle, and he wasn't entirely sure what she thought of Alec. The first time they had said a word to each other was a month ago when she asked him in the cafeteria whether or not he was gay. Of course, Alec running off had been the result of that, and Magnus running after Alec was what had really started their...what? Friendship?

 _Does Camille really have a thing for Alec?_ Magnus wondered. Alec wasn't the type she usually went for; if she had to have a crush on any of the Lightwoods, he would've guessed it would be for Jace. With his golden hair, mysterious eyes, and muscular body, he was exactly Camille's type. Then again, Magnus wasn't exactly her type either, and they dated for almost six months. 

"Hey," Magnus said softly to Alec as they walked down the hall together. Isabelle and Jace's lockers were on the other side of the school from Alec's, and Camille had rushed off to the bathroom to check her makeup. Magnus wondered if the universe was purposefully forcing them to spend more time together. 

"Hey," Alec said back. Magnus frowned. Alec sounded different. He didn't _look_ any different, that was for sure. 

"Are you okay?" Magnus asked. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." This time, Magnus could hear how distant Alec's voice was, almost as if he were preoccupied with something else. 

"What did Camille want?" Magnus asked. Anything to break the silence. 

"She asked if I was doing anything after school." Magnus laughed as Alec wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I don't understand why. We have nothing in common."

"Opposites attract," Magnus pointed out, and his hand flew to his mouth. "I didn't mean that that's why you should hang out with Camille, I'm just saying that—"

"It's okay, Magnus," Alec interrupted, smiling softly. "I know what you meant."

Magnus glanced at the clock on the wall and silently groaned when he saw that there was only one and a half minutes until the final bell rang. As much as he didn't want to leave Alec, he also didn't want to be late to class. 

"I have to go," he said, already starting to rush down the hall. "I'll see you at lunch?"

He didn't have time to look back for an answer. 

 

 

**Alec**

The entire morning, Magnus's words echoed through Alec's head. _I'll see you at lunch._ Did that mean he was sitting with them? Or did he just mean that he would most likely see Alec at lunch since their tables were relatively close to each other? Alec was tempted to throw his head down on the desk. Why couldn't things ever be easy for once?

"Are you okay?" someone asked, and Alec looked up. He blinked and saw Lydia Branwell's concerned face peering down at his. 

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Alec wondered out loud. Did he really look as spaced-out as he felt?

"You just look kinda, you know, stressed," Lydia explained. "I'm not saying that you look tired, or anything, it's just... Okay, yeah, you actually do look a little tired."

Alec attempted to hide a yawn behind his hand, and his eyes were fluttering closed as the bell rang loudly, scaring the daylights out of him. 

Lydia giggled as she watched him pathetically try to catch his Latin homework that sailed off his desk. Alec, having no hand-eye coordination whatsoever, had no chance of catching the homework. It landed lightly right in front of where a girl with curly red hair was walking. 

Alec dived after the paper, picking it up at the same time as the redhead. 

"Is this yours?" she asked, and Alec nodded. 

"Yeah, thanks," said Alec, and pulled it out of her hand harder than he meant to. 

"Ow!" the girl muttered. "You gave me a paper cut."

Alec's cheeks burned. "Oh, God, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to pull the paper so fast..."

"Mr. Lightwood and Miss Fairchild, what is going on over there?" Professor Starkweather asked.

"Nothing," they both replied at the same time. 

They paused awkwardly, suddenly aware of how many pairs of eyes were on them. Professor Starkweather raised his eyebrows and asked, "May I start class now?"

"Sorry," Alec mumbled and hurried back to his seat. Glancing over at Lydia, who was still giggling, a wave of irritation washed over him. He didn't understand why she just sat there, laughing at him, instead of trying to help. 

When Professor Starkweather assigned their partners for a project they were doing, Alec wasn't as surprised as he should've been when he saw he was assigned to the redhead from the beginning of class. Of course his partner was the girl he had _injured_ at the start of class. 

"Hi again," she said as Alec slowly walked up to her. 

"Hey," Alec said. Quickly, he added, "Again, I'm really sorry about the paper cut."

"Oh please, it's nothing." The girl outstretched her hand for Alec to shake. "I'm Clarissa Fairchild, but everyone calls me Clary."

"I'm Alec."

"Nice to meet—" She stopped and studied Alec's face carefully. He shifted where he stood. "Wait a second. Are you related to Isabelle and Jace?"

Alec nodded. He wasn't surprised that Clary knew his siblings better than him. 

"I'm a cheerleader," explained Clary. "That's how I know Jace; we usually finish practice at the same time."

Alec paused. The girl was a cheerleader, which must mean she sat at the popular table with Camille Belcourt and...

"Do you know Magnus?" Alec asked. He realized how stupid the question was. Who _didn't_ know Magnus?

"Magnus? Yeah, he's, like, one of my best friends," she said. "Why?"

Alec shook his head, suddenly embarrassed. "No reason," he said. He looked over to see Professor Starkweather glaring at the two of them. 

"We should probably start working on the project now," Alec said. "Starkweather is giving us some major stink eye right now."

 

 

**Magnus**

He was late for lunch, which wasn't his fault at all. He had chosen to wear several more pieces of jewelry than he usually wore to school (he was feeling extra sparkly this morning), and he had gym right before lunch. The gym teacher, Mr. Aldertree, who also coached football, made Magnus take off every single piece of jewelry down to the ring he wore on his toe. As a way to silently rebel against Aldertree, Magnus had gotten his belly button pierced, just so he'd always have some jewelry on him at all times.

When he walked into the cafeteria, he was surprised that, instead of immediately heading for Camille's table, he found himself glancing over to look at where the Lightwoods sat.

 _"Hola, amigo,"_ Raphael said, coming up from behind Magnus. "C'mon, let's go."

As Raphael began to walk towards Camille's table, Magnus hesitated again. He preferred the Lightwood's company much more than Camille's company, despite the fact that he was pretty sure Jace hated him. 

"What are you doing?" Raphael walked back to Magnus. He followed his gaze to the Lightwood's. 

"Ah," said Raphael. "You have made a connection with Alexander Lightwood, haven't you?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about," said Magnus, and even though he really wanted to sit with Alec and Isabelle and Jace, he knew how Camille would react. 

"Let's go," Magnus echoed, walking firmly over to Camille's table. 

 

 

**Alec**

"I know I failed," Izzy complained, her head in her hands. "I don't think I'm ever going to understand geometry."

Alec nodded silently as he pulled out of the school parking lot. He knew that, for the time being, Izzy was too busy complaining about her grades to ask what was wrong with him, which he was grateful for. It was like he had been working on autopilot all day besides Latin. 

"...a D!" Izzy finished, waving her hands around wildly as she talked. "A D in geometry. I do have an A in Spanish and English, but if I have B's in everything else. How am I going to escape the wrath of the parents when they realize how disappointing their daughter actually is."

"Izzy." Alec's voice was soft and shaky. He pulled to a stop at a red light and looked over at his younger sister. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, pounding furiously like a drum. His palms were so sweaty they left prints on the steering wheel. 

"Yeah? Is everything okay?" Izzy asked, picking up on Alec's somberness. 

The light turned green, and Alec pushed the gas down. The car fell into an uncomfortable silence, and Alec was thankful that Izzy was staying silent. If she had started speaking, he would've lost all his nerve.

"I have to tell you something," he continued slowly. Izzy nodded. 

"I'm..." Alec hesitated. If he stopped now, he could make up something. It wasn't too late to change his mind, although in a way, it was. He guarded this secret so tightly for almost five years, ever since he started wondering if he was gay. He couldn't take it anymore. 

"I'm gay." 

The moment the words were out of his mouth, he let out a huge breath. It felt good to say it out loud. So good. As he was stopped by another red light, he looked over at Izzy. 

"Oh," she said. "Okay."

Alec waited, but nothing more came. "That's it?" he asked. "Are you...surprised?"

"No, not really," she said. When Alec gave her a confused look, she rolled her eyes. "Please. Every time you were with Magnus, I could feel the connection between you two. You guys even went shopping together. Only a thick, knuckle-head idiot could be oblivious to that."

"Jace is oblivious."

"My point exactly. He's a thick, knuckle-headed idiot."

The light turned green. "Are you really not surprised?" Alec asked. 

"Do you want me to be surprised?" Izzy asked. "'Cause if you do, I'm willing to pretend to be."

"No, it's fine." 

As they pulled up into their driveway, Alec turned off the car and turned to face Izzy. "You seriously cannot tell _anyone_ ," he said. "Not even Jace. _Especially_ not Jace."

"I won't. I promise." She beamed at Alec. "This is so exciting!" she squealed. "Now we can discuss boys together!"

Alec laughed, feeling a little lightheaded from the relief. "Yeah, I guess so," he said. 

Izzy leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm. "Sooo, do you like Magnus?" she asked very bluntly and to the point. 

Alec's face burned. "Izzy!"

"Just a question," she protested, sounding defensive. 

"No. No, we're just friends. Just because he's bisexual and I'm...I'm gay doesn't mean that we have to be together or even like each other like that," Alec argued. 

Unbuckling her seat belt, Izzy mumbled something under her breath. Alec leaned forward. "What'd you say?" he asked. 

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," Izzy said, quoting Shakespeare. 

She was out of the car before he could say anything back. 


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just felt really inspired this week for some reason, so it's kinda long.

**Chapter Fourteen**

 

 

 

 

**Magnus**

When his phone buzzed, he groaned. He really wasn't in the mood to talk to Camille; he was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Alec instead. His heart skipped a beat (though he'd never admit it). This was the first time Alec had initiated a conversation between them ever. It was exhilarating.

 **Alexander:** _Hey, Magnus. It's me. Alec. Just in case you were wondering._

Magnus couldn't help smiling at the text. The boy was simply too awkward and adorable for his own damn good. 

 **Magnus:** _Hello, Alexander. How are you today?_

Magnus noticed that Alec's response was almost immediate, when a month ago, it would've taken him at least a couple minutes to respond. 

 **Alexander:** _I'm really good, actually. Just a little bored._

Drumming his fingers on the back of his phone, Magnus was well aware that now he was the one who wasn't answering right away. He hesitated before writing the text, but decided that the worst thing that could come out of it was Alec would decline. (Actually, the worst thing that could happen was Alec refusing to talk to him ever again, but Magnus figured that was a bit on the extreme side.)

 **Magnus:** _So am I, actually. I was wondering...would you and Isabelle and Jace like to come over to my house sometime?_

Magnus made sure to add Alec's siblings in his text, lest Alec think this was some sort of booty call. 

Holding his breath, Magnus watched as the three dots appeared, then went away, then appeared, then went away. He was relieved when he saw the three dots again, and this time, they didn't go away. 

 **Alexander:**   _I'll ask Izzy, hang on._

Magnus waited for what seemed like forever—in reality, it was only about three minutes—for Alec to respond with his answer. Magnus realized that he actually did really want to hang out, not just with Alec, but with Isabelle and Jace as well. They were different from the people he'd always hung out with, and he liked that. 

 **Alexander:** _Iz says she's up for it. She's still trying to convince Jace to come, though._

 **Magnus:** _I don't think your brother likes me very much. I need to figure out a way to get him to like me._

 **Alec:** _I think he finds you intimidating or something. He has a bit of a "get them before they get me" attitude sometimes._

 **Magnus:** _Did you steal that from Dr. Phil?_  

 **Alec:** _...Maybe. It's true, though. Don't tell him I told you this, but from what I understand, his biological father wasn't the best guy in the world. There was a lot of mental and emotional abuse. My parents tried to get Jace to see a therapist, but he refused._

Reading Alec's text, Magnus felt a long-ago buried emotion rise up in his chest. Jace had been mentally and emotionally abused by his father? Perhaps they had more in common than they originally thought. 

 **Magnus:** _That's terrible. It's a good thing he has a loving family now._

 **Alec:** _Yeah, thank goodness. Hey! Izzy just told me that Jace is up for hanging out at your house! Um, when?_

 **Magnus:** _How about right now? Unless you have lots of homework to do._

 **Alec:**   _Nah, I only have a couple problems left, and even I don't do homework on Fridays._

 **Magnus:**   _Great! I'll see you in twenty minutes!_

Once again, the three dots appeared, then disappeared, then reappeared, and finally disappeared. Magnus found that the three dots infuriated him in the best way possible. 

 

***

 

Something was different about Alexander. Magnus could tell it the instant he opened the door. He couldn't tell exactly what it was, but he liked it.

"Woah," Isabelle breathed as she took in the large room. Even Jace was trying—and mostly failing—to hide a look of awe on his face. "This is freakin' huge!"

As they slid their shoes off and made their way further into the house, Magnus kept watching Alec curiously. 

"Look at the chandelier," Isabelle squealed, as she spun around in the middle of the living room. Her curly black hair flew out as she turned, and the bottom of her clean white dress rose delicately. She looked like an angel. 

Magnus nodded, barely paying attention. He had just figured out the thing that was different about Alec: the way he was carrying himself. Every time Magnus had seen Alec, his shoulders were tense and slumped forward, his eyes glued to the floor. His messy bedhead hair would sometimes fall in his eyes, and he would occasionally peek out from underneath to look at something shyly. Right now, however, Alec's shoulders were back and relaxed, and his head was turning every which way around the room, looking at everything he could. It was almost as if he had gained five times more confident in the past twenty-four hours than in his eighteen years on Earth. 

"This is beautiful, Magnus," Alec chimed in, and Jace grunted in what Magnus assumed to be agreement. 

"Look," Isabelle said, pointing to the kitchen. Immediately, Alec and Jace moved to either side of their sister, almost as if holding her back. 

"What are you two doing?" Magnus asked.

"It's dangerous to let Izzy into the kitchen," Jace explained, ignoring the dirty look she threw his way. 

"Why?" Magnus asked, amused. 

"Every meal she makes is terrible," Alec continued. "More than terrible—it's downright dangerous."

"Oh, like you could do any better," Isabelle snapped. "Remember when Grandma died, and we made Mom that stew? Turns out she thought it was disgusting. She just didn't tell you because she didn't want to hurt your sensitive feelings."

"I do not have sensitive feelings," Alec protested. "I'm hurt." He held up a hand in front of Jace's open mouth. "Yes, Jace, I do realize that I sounded very sensitive when I said that."

Magnus snickered while watching the Lightwood siblings fight, happy for right now to just be a bystander. He'd never truly seen Alec bicker with Jace and Isabelle before, and he found it endearing. 

"Seriously?" Isabelle asked. "You're not even going to let me walk _through_ it to get to the other room? I seriously have to go around?"

Jace and Alec nodded. "You don't want to destroy Magnus's home, do you?" Alec asked rhetorically, biting his lip to hold back a smile. 

Isabelle huffed and began walking around the other way, arms crossed. 

"Let's go up to my room," Magnus suggested, as his three friends kept exploring all the nooks and crannies of his house that he took for granted. "There's nothing glass in there that has the potential to be broken."

"Sure," Alec said, surprisingly everyone. "Lead the way."

"Magnus!" 

All four turned, and Magnus saw Catarina come in through the front door, holding the hand of a little girl with light brown skin, wearing a fashionable dress and scarf. 

"Catarina! There you are!" Magnus looked down at the little girl. "Who's this?"

"This is Madzie," Catarina introduced. "I adopted her from the foster care system a few months ago. She's still a little shy."

"I didn't know you had a daughter," Magnus said indignantly. "You lied to me!"

"I actually don't think I did; you've never asked," Catarina pointed out. She looked over Magnus's shoulder. 

"Who are these people?" Catarina asked, noticing the three people standing next to him. 

"These are the Lightwood siblings," Magnus introduced. "This is Isabelle, this is Alec, and this is Jace. Guys, this is Catarina Loss."

"Ohhh." Magnus didn't like Catarina's smile. "So _this_ is Alec Lightwood."

Magnus sent her a warning look, and thankfully, she moved on. 

"Anyway, Madzie's first grade teacher called to tell me she's getting sick, and I had to leave for a couple hours. I tried calling the babysitter, but she wasn't picking up, so I just had to bring Madzie back here with me." Catarina ran her fingers though her hair, looking frazzled. Madzie let out a loud cough that shook her entire little body. 

"Do you have cough medicine?" Isabelle asked. 

Magnus shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I haven't been sick in a while."

Catarina groaned. "If I'd known that, I would've stopped by the pharmacy and grabbed some." 

"I can go out and get some for you," Magnus offered. "You look exhausted—not in a bad way, of course. I'll just go get some and be back in a jiff."

"I can't ask you to do that," Catarina protested weakly. 

"You didn't. I volunteered." Magnus had an idea. "And I'll take Jason with me!"

"What?" Jace sputtered. "First of all, my name is Jace, _not_ Jason. Second, why do I have to go with you?"

"I get lonely," Magnus lied. It actually wasn't a total lie; he _did_ get lonely, just not from driving. 

Jace crossed his arms. "No. No one gets lonely from _driving_."

Magnus glanced over at Alec and Isabelle, who seemed to get the hint. 

"What a great idea, Magnus!" Isabelle said brightly. "You two can have some quality bonding time!" Under her breath, she hissed, "This is for refusing to let me in the kitchen."

His lips twitching with anger, Jace threw his hands up towards the ceiling and yelled, "Fine! Let's go!" He stalked out of the room, and Magnus winked at Isabelle and Alec. 

He swore he heard all of them burst out laughing as they left. 

 

 

**Alec**

"Alright," Catarina said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, "you two go ahead up to Magnus's room, and I'll make a snack. It's up the stairs, third door on your left." As they left, she grabbed a remote and turned on the TV for Madzie.

Alec and Izzy thanked her and began to slowly climb up the stairs. "I mean, look at this house," Izzy said, already sounding a little out-of-breath. "I knew Magnus's parents were rich, but I never knew that it was to this extent. By the way, have you guys ever talked about Magnus's parents? I've never heard anyone talk about them." 

"Uh, no," Alec said. "We haven't."

They reached Magnus's door, and Izzy gasped as they stepped into a room that was the size of both their bedrooms combined. There was a white chandelier in the middle of the bedroom with light pink diamonds hanging off it sparkling. Izzy squealed again when she found Magnus's walk-in closet filled to the brim with a variety of clothing items. 

Alec, who could care less about the chandelier and the closet, carefully walked further into the room examining the multitude of posters on Magnus's wall.  Alec was amused to see several boy band posters up, including several of One Direction. One poster had a heart drawn around Harry Styles. Clearly Magnus had gone through a boyband phase when he was younger. Several other posters were of Lady Gaga and Beyoncé and a few other singers Alec didn't know. 

Turning around, his throat tightened as he saw a framed photo of Magnus and Camille on what looked like a picnic on Magnus's desk. He forced himself to not dwell on it for too long—he knew they were friends. Nothing more.

He smiled as he saw another framed photo of Magnus with the same redhead from his Latin class—Clary. 

"Hey, Alec, do you think Magnus would mind that I tried on some of his jewelry?" Isabelle asked, walking back into the bedroom. She waved her arms and fingers, the jewelry glinting as the light hit it. Around her neck was a necklace with a deep red stone in the middle. 

"Probably not," Alec said. He saw a familiar look in his sister's eyes. "What, Izzy?"

She took a deep breath. "There was a reason I wanted Jace to go with Magnus—well, other than the fact that I knew it would torture him."

"Okay...?" Alec braced himself, knowing his sister was about to ask a question that some would call an invasion of privacy. 

"When are you going to come out to Jace and Magnus?" Izzy asked.  

Alec looked down at the desk at the photo of Magnus and Clary. It was something he had been asking himself ever since he came out to his sister. 

"I honestly have no idea," Alec admitted. "I mean, I knew how you would take it; you were already talking about Magnus liking me from the first conversation we had together. But...Jace is on a whole 'nother level. Magnus, too."

There was a soft knock on the door, and Catarina peeked her head in. Alec wondered how much of their conversation, if any, she'd heard. "I have some cheese and ham and crackers if you're hungry." She set down a platter on the desk. 

"Really? Thanks!" Izzy stacked ham and cheese on top of the cracker and put it all in her mouth so her cheeks bulged. 

"Is there anything else you need?" Catarina asked, and Alec shook his head. Izzy mumbled something around a mouthful of cracker that sounded like "No thanks". 

Nodding, Catarina began to close the door before hesitating and turning to look kindly at Alec. 

"I know that we just met, and this may seem out-of-the-blue, but I just want you to know that if there's anything you want to talk to someone about, I'd be willing to be that person."

Alec didn't know what to say, so he simply nodded in response.

 

 

**Magnus**

"Is that really necessary?" Magnus asked, glancing over at Jace as he slowed down to a stop.

Jace, who was using both hands to grip the handle above his seat so hard that his knuckles were turning white, nodded. "Yes," he said shortly. "It really is."

"I know how to drive," Magnus said, already exasperated. 

"So you claim," Jace replied. "So far, in this car alone, I've counted exactly three times my life was at risk because of you."

The light turned green, and Magnus gently pressed on the gas. "Okay, so maybe I could've gone a little slower when I was passing that elementary school, but that boy ran out in front of _me_. If anyone's life was at danger, it was his. And that Volvo wasn't following the rules of a roundabout, which wasn't my fault either. That's only two!"

" _Only_ two?" Jace repeated incredulously. "That's like telling someone, 'I tried to kill him _only_ twice'." 

"Even if we had gotten into an accident, it would've been an accident," Magnus argued. 

"I don't believe you." Jace gripped the handle harder. "And neither would the officer."

"Okay, fine, I'd tell him it was because an annoying blond-haired boy was sitting next to me and wouldn't shut up about my driving abilities!"

 

***

 

"Alright, I think I found some," Magnus announced, kneeling in an aisle at CVS. He stood up and turned to see Jace holding a different bottle of cough medicine.

"We should buy this one instead," Jace countered. 

"Why? I already found some."

"A: I found this one first. B: It's automatically better because I chose it. C: It helps with headaches and upset stomachs too."

"But Catarina didn't say that Madzie had a headache or an upset stomach," Magnus argued. 

"But she didn't say that Madzie didn't not _not_ have a headache or an upset stomach," Jace fired back. 

 _"What?"_  Magnus narrowed his eyes. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. We're getting the medicine I found, and that's that."

"No, that is not that. This one is better."

"How about we just go ask the pharmacist?" Magnus turned on his heel and headed to the back corner of the CVS. He heard Jace follow him a second later. 

"Hey," Magnus greeted the young woman, slamming the cough medicine down harder than he meant to. Jace did the same. "We're in the middle of an argument; which cough medicine would be better for a little girl?"

The pharmacist picked up both bottles and said, "Well, I'd have to say this one." To Magnus's shock, she held up the one Jace picked out. "I mean, this one treats headaches and upset stomachs as well as coughing and stuffy noses. This one only helps coughing and stuffy noses."

Without saying anything, Jace raised his arms in victory and walked away. 

 

 

**Alec**

"Do you think we should text them?" Izzy wondered, right as they heard the front door slam.

"We're back!" he heard Jace yell from downstairs.

"Finally," Izzy mumbled. She threw down a magazine and hurried down the stairs; Alec followed her. "What took you guys so long?" she asked, bounding down into the living room. 

"We may have had an argument or two along the way," Magnus admitted. 

Alec snorted. "How many?"

"Like...four or five," Jace estimated. 

"And I'm _sure_ you didn't start _any_ of them," Izzy said, the sarcasm dripping from her voice. 

"Exactly! I'm the victim here," Jace complained. "We almost _died_."

"We did not almost die!" Magnus yelled. "And I want to circle back to you calling yourself a victim. _I_ was the one experiencing the most torture."

"But it was your idea to drag me along in the first place," Jace yelled. For once, Magnus didn't have a comeback. 

"Alright boys," Catarina interrupted. "Cough up the cough medicine." She let out a small laugh at her own joke. 

"If they did that, they'd have to take some of the medicine too!" Izzy laughed, and Alec rolled his eyes affectionately. 

Jace reached into the bag and pulled out the tiny bottle filled with dark purple liquid. "You mean this cough medicine that also helps with headaches and upset stomachs?"

"Thank you two so much!" Catarina said, relief flooding her voice. "Madzie _just_ told me her stomach was hurting a bit."

"HA!" Everyone jumped as Jace pumped his fist in the air. "I'm right _again_."

Alec could not blame Catarina when she rolled her eyes and scurried out of the room. 

Magnus tilted his head to the side, eyebrows furrowed. "Is that my necklace, Isabelle?" he asked, and Izzy turned a light pink. 

"Oh, yeah, I was going to tell you. I felt compelled to try on some of your jewelry. Sorry."

Magnus waved his hand. "Oh, I don't mind. You can keep the necklace if you like it; I have so many, and I rarely wear that one."

"Are you kidding? I love it. Thanks!" Izzy beamed. "I also went into your closet," she added. "It was like getting a taste of heaven. Your entire house is gorgeous. What do your parents do for a living?"

Alec noticed Magnus hesitate, the smile he had on his face slowly slipping away into a frown. 

"Where _are_ your parents, anyway?" Izzy kept going, oblivious to Magnus's expression. "Do you live by yourself? Does Catarina take care of you?"

"Um...well...my parents...they...my mother..." Magnus trailed off, eyes looking at nothing. 

"What?" Jace asked. 

"Hey," Alec spoke up, giving his siblings a serious look. "Stop being nosy. Magnus has already been tortured enough by having to spend time with Jace. Give him a break."

Magnus sent Alec a grateful look. Alec gave him a small smile in return. Magnus obviously wanted to keep his parents whereabouts a secret for now, and Alec understood what it was like to want to keep a secret. 


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for some Clace scenes...

**Chapter Fifteen**

 

 

 

 

**Magnus**

Magnus was sick for the first time in six years. The last time this happened, Magnus was twelve, and his mother spent the entire day caring for him; checking his temperature, giving him soup from her home country—Indonesia—called _konro_ , and making sure he kept drinking water so he wouldn't get dehydrated.

Grabbing a tissue from the nightstand, Magnus felt the familiar lump in his throat as he was filled with memories of his  mother. 

He remembered a time when his mother was young and beautiful and without worry lines on her face. She would pick him up from school and take him out for dinner and ice cream. He hadn't realized until a couple years ago that the main reason she did that was to lessen the amount of time he spent with his adoptive father. Even though his mother had been gone for almost four years, it still made his heart ache when he thought about her. 

Magnus sneezed and opened his mouth to call out to Catarina, when she came bursting in, almost like she could read his mind. 

"How are you doing?" she asked. In one hand she carried a glass of lemon water, and in the other, she carried a bowl of what Magnus recognized as _konro_. 

"I think I'm dying," Magnus moaned. Sitting up, Catarina gently placed the bowl in Magnus's eager hands. "Cat, this is amazing," Magnus croaked, his voice scratchy. He ate a small spoonful and closed his eyes in bliss as the familiar taste washed over him. 

Catarina smiled. "I'm glad you enjoy it. I found some old recipes tucked away in a drawer." 

Magnus smiled back. "My mom used to make this for me," he said. "She'd come in and would read to me while I ate. Then, she'd tuck me in and sing me a lullaby called 'Nina Bobo' to help me fall asleep." He took another spoonful, knowing that if he were to look up at Catarina, her eyes would be filled with sorrow. 

"She sounds like a wonderful woman," said Catarina, who had been hired after Magnus's mother died. "I'm sure she'd be so happy to see where her son is today."

Even though Catarina knew that Mrs. Bane had passed, she didn't know the specific details of her death; only Magnus and his adoptive father knew those. 

"She was," Magnus agreed. _I_ _miss_   _her._ The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he bit down and held them back. 

"Um, I'm a little thirsty," Magnus said to break the quiet. 

Catarina swiftly handed Magnus the lemon water. "Here you go," she said. "I decided to make you some lemon water because lemons are high in a fiber called pectin—a prebiotic that assists good gut health by feeding healthy gut bacteria. Lemons also contain large amounts of citric acid, which can increase urine output and decrease kidney stones, as well as aid in digestion. All of which is good for your immune system and your overall health."

Magnus gaped at Catarina. "How do you know all that?" he asked in awe. 

"I have my ways," she said. A beat went by before she added, "And by that, I mean I looked it up on Google."

Magnus laughed weakly before breaking out in a fit of coughing. 

"Oh!" Catarina clasped her hands together. "Do you need some cough drops? I spotted some in the medicine cabinet—"

"Cat," Magnus interrupted with a smile. "This is perfect. Thank you."

Beaming, Catarina shook her head modestly. "It's nothing." 

She turned to leave before stopping and turning back around. "If you don't mind me saying so, I would like to learn more about your mother," she said, sounding hesitant. "If you're comfortable with talking about it, of course."

Magnus nodded. It had been a long time since he discussed his mother with anyone. 

"What do you want to know?" Magnus asked, gulping down half the glass of lemon water. 

"Anything you want to tell me." Catarina laid down on the end of Magnus's bed, propping herself up on her elbow. "Tell me about your fondest memory of your mother."

Magnus's lips twitched as he remembered one day in late July when he was six or seven and went to the zoo for the first time. 

"Well," he began, "it involves me, my mom, and an angry monkey..."

 

 

**Alec**

"The house is _still_ a mess." Alec wrung his hands nervously as he surveyed the living room. He had forced Izzy to help him clean up a bit around the house—Clary was coming over to work on their project in Latin, and he didn't want her to think they lived in a barn.

"Dude. Chill." Izzy blew a loose strand of hair out of her face. "Who is coming over that is so important you're enslaving me?"

"I'm not 'enslaving' you." Alec rolled his eyes. "And it's a girl in my Latin class named Clary Fairchild."

Izzy wrinkled her nose. "I recognize that name. Isn't she a cheerleader? Along with Lydia and Camille and Helen and Aline and every other girl who sits at that table?" 

"Yeah, but she's _nothing_ like Lydia," Alec argued. "You haven't even talked to her yet. You might even, gasp, like her."

Crossing her arms, Izzy glared at her brother. "I don't appreciate your sarcasm," she said through clenched teeth. 

"You're not supposed to," Alec pointed out.

A loud chime echoed through the house as the doorbell rang out. "What's that racket?" Robert Lightwood yelled from his office upstairs. 

"The doorbell," Izzy yelled back. 

"No yelling in the house!" Maryse Lightwood yelled from her other office, which was right next door to her husband's. 

"Hypocrite," Izzy muttered. 

"Hey," Alec greeted as he opened the door to the redhead standing with her backpack slung over one shoulder. "Come in."

"Hey, Alec," Clary greeted him cheerfully, stepping into the entranceway. "Thanks for inviting me over. My house is a little chaotic right now."

"No problem," Alec reassured her. At the same time, Izzy asked, "Why's it chaotic?"

"Izzy!" Alec scolded. "That's none of your business!" He turned to Clary. "Seriously, you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"No, it's fine." Clary reached down and unzipped her boots. "My parents are getting a divorce, which really sucks. My dad is moving his stuff out of our house and into a new apartment on the other side of the city. Both my mom and my dad want custody of me, and they can't agree on anything. I have an older brother, Jonathan, but he's legally an adult and away at college in California right now, so they're not really worried about him. It's just really stressful right now, 'cause it could become this whole custody battle, and I just want to stay with my mom." She ran her fingers through her hair. "Sorry. I didn't mean to just spew all that out on you two."

"Don't worry about it," Alec said. 

"Why are they getting a divorce?" Izzy asked. 

"Isabelle!"

"What? I can't ask follow-up questions?" 

Alec threw his arms up and tilted his head back. "'Serenity now'," he begged. 

Clary grinned. "'Insanity later'," she finished the quote. "I love _Seinfeld_." 

"Me too," Izzy agreed. "We're a _Seinfeld_ family: Alec, Jace, and me."

As they made their way into the living room, Clary asked in a tone that sounded casual in a forced kind of way, "Jace? Is he here?"

"Nah," Izzy answered. "He's still at basketball practice. He'll be back in an hour or so filled with a simply _fascinating_ tale about the number of layups he made."

"Who are you?" a sharp voice asked from the doorway of the living room. Alec turned to see his mother standing with her arms crossed in the entranceway. "You didn't tell me you were having someone over, Alexander."

"This is Clary Fairchild—" Alec started before Maryse put her hand up, stopping him. 

"I'm sure she can introduce herself, Alexander," she said. She turned her cool gaze to Clary and raised her eyebrows expectantly. 

"Um...hi." Clary's voice was soft and nervous. "I'm Clary Fairchild. I'm in Alec's Latin class, and Professor Starkweather paired us together, and we're going to work on the project."

"Fairchild...I know that name," Maryse said, almost to herself. She cocked her head to the side. "Is your mother Jocelyn Fairchild?"

Clary nodded. "Yeah. She was Jocelyn Morgenstern, but my parents are getting divorced so..."

"We went to high school together," Maryse explained.

"Oh, that sounds fun?" Clary said, sounding awkward. 

"Yes, we shared many classes together," Maryse said, in a tone that very decidedly suggested that maybe it was not as fun as Clary hoped. 

"Well, you should get to work," Maryse said. "Stay out here in the living room. I don't want you two to go back to Alec's room."

"Mom!" Alec's cheeks burned, and he heard Izzy behind him muffle a laugh. 

"That's okay, Mrs. Lightwood," Clary said. Though she sounded calm, her cheeks were bright pink as well. "I promise nothing will happen."

 

 

**Magnus**

"And then there was that one day she found a lost cat wandering around the streets, so she took it home with her," Magnus said, launching into another story of his mother. He had had Catarina in stitches with the story of his first time at the zoo, and he found he rather enjoyed telling stories about his mother.

"She just picked up a stray cat?" Catarina asked. "Did your mom not know about all the diseases wild animals have on them?"

Magnus shrugged. "I guess not. But she brought him home, gave him a bath, and named him Church. He was very judgmental too. He'd just perch himself on the window ledge in the sun and just stare at us." Magnus's smile faded. "We had to keep Church away from my dad though, 'cause he would've made us get rid of him." 

Magnus paused. He knew what the end of the story was, and it still made him angry and sad and terrified. 

"No, never mind." Magnus shook his head. "Just forget I said anything about Church."

"No, tell me," Catarina insisted gently. 

To fill up some time, Magnus chugged the last of his lemon water and refluffed his pillows. Finally, he forced himself to keep going. 

"One night, my dad came home later than usual, and he was drunk. So drunk it was a wonder he made it home at all. He was in a bad mood for some reason, and I remember seeing him punch my mother in the face." Magnus's voice caught, and he heard Catarina take in a sharp breath. 

"He was calling her these awful names and was just hitting her over and over again." Magnus's eyes filled up with tears, and Catarina handed him a tissue. 

"And when he was done with her, he happened to notice the cat sleeping on his favorite chair. He..." Magnus let out a sob. "He just killed Church. He killed my cat!" 

He was crying too hard to notice Catarina wrap her arms around him and pull him into a hug. 

 

 

**Alec**

It had been almost an hour since Clary first arrived, and she and Alec had done zero work on their project.

Resting his chin in the palm of his hand, Alec glanced over to the other side of the table where Clary and Izzy were on their phones and giggling. 

"Come on!" Alec cried out in frustration. "We've done nothing, and you've been here for fifty-four minutes!"

Clary glanced up and blinked in surprise. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry." She put her phone down and came back over to sit next to Alec. "Really, I am. The time just flew by."

Alec straightened up and opened his Latin folder. "Okay, so I was thinking we could—"

"I'm home!" 

"Hey, Jace!" Izzy yelled. 

"Hey, Izzy!" Jace yelled back. 

"Don't yell in the house!" Robert yelled like clockwork, still in his office. 

"Jace is here?" Clary asked, looking around as if expecting him to pop in out of thin air. 

"Yeah, but don't let him distract you." Alec tried, and failed, to bring Clary's attention back to what _really_ mattered. "Anyway, as I was saying, I think it's best if we—"

"How was practice?" Izzy asked as Jace walked into the living room. 

"It was great!" As Izzy predicted, Jace launched into a huge story about how he made all these incredible shots and would most likely lead his team to victory for all their games. 

"As interesting as that is," Alec said once the story was over, "Clary and I have some serious work to do—"

"Clary?" Jace turned, and his eyes widened as he noticed the red-haired girl next to Alec. "Oh! Clary! Hey!"

"Hey, Jace," she greeted, and Alec noticed her cheeks go pink. "Congrats on scoring seven three-pointers."

"Thanks." Jace smiled. 

"Seven?" Alec asked. "By the way you were talking, I thought you meant, like, twenty or thirty."

"Seven three-pointers is twenty-one points, Alec," Izzy said knowledgeably. 

"Oh, look who's suddenly good at math now," Alec pointed out, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "I know what seven times three is, Iz. 

"The record for most amount of three-pointers in the NBA is twelve," Jace added. 

"And yet you can't remember what _absum, abesse,_  and _afui_ all mean," Alec shot back, feeling irritable. 

"They mean to be absent or absence," Clary said immediately. "That's an easy one, 'cause they all start with _a_." 

"Why do there have to be three different words that mean the exact same thing?" Jace asked, sighing. "It makes no sense. English is easy. It has rules."

"But look at it from the perspective of someone who's native language isn't English," Clary argued. "We have their, they're, and there, it's and its, 'i before e except after c', except not in the words neighbor and weigh, et cetera. There are countless inconsistencies in the English language."

"Et cetera also has Latin roots meaning 'and other similar things', or 'and so forth'," Alec felt the need to point out. 

"It's the same thing in Spanish," Izzy chimed in. "For example, the definite article _el_ , which usually means 'the'. The pronoun, _él_ , sounds the same, but it as an accent mark over the e and means 'he' or 'him'." 

Alec felt a rush of intense joy as Jace shook his head, exasperated. 

"What are you two even doing anyway?" Jace asked, opening a bottle of Gatorade. 

"We're _trying_ to work on our Latin project," Alec said. 

Jace frowned. "Latin project? What Latin project?"

"Oh my God." Alec dropped his face into his hands. 

Clary chuckled. "The one Starkweather assigned us in class a couple days ago," she explained. "He assigned everyone partners and said it was due a week from tomorrow." 

Jace's frown deepened. "Are you sure? I don't remember that."

"Who's your partner?" Alec asked. 

"Some girl; I think her name is Kaelie," Jace said, shrugging. 

"I know her," Clary said. Her tone of voice suggested that she would not be terribly upset if she didn't know her. "She's on the cheerleading team." Clary bit her lip. "She has this insane crush on you. She's always on her phone checking whether or not you posted something on Instagram that she, God forbid, may have missed."

Jace's laugh sounded forced and nervous. "That's kind of creepy," he responded. 

"So shouldn't _you_ be working on this Latin project too?" Izzy asked, who had pulled out a bottle of nail polish from who knows where and was now casually applying some Lover's Dream red on her nails. 

"I didn't even know about the project until, like, two seconds ago." Jace set his finished gatorade down on the counter. "I need a new partner. Do you think Starkweather will let me switch?"

"Wait." Izzy looked up from her nails and grinned. "You're in the same period as Magnus, right?"

Jace nodded. "Yeah, but he wasn't at school today. I think he's sick or something."

"Then you can go ask Starkweather if you can be paired with Magnus!" Izzy began laughing so hard that she was almost cackling. 

"No." Jace's voice was firm. "I don't want to work with Magnus on some stupid project."

"But he's good at Latin," Alec pointed out, "so he can help you. From what Clary says, this Kaelie girl sounds like an airhead."

" _And_ you can invite him over to the house to work, and Alec can invite Clary, and we'll all just hang out together!" Izzy turned back to her nails. "I'm a genius."

"Fine," Jace muttered. "I'll ask Starkweather whether or not I can be Magnus's partner. But only if you come with me, Alec. I don't think he likes me very much."

"Okay," Alec agreed. "I will."

Jace stretched his arms, and his shirt rode up, exposing some of his stomach. Alec saw Clary's face turn pink again. 

"Alright, I'm outta here," he announced. "I'm going to go take a shower."

"Thank God," Izzy teased, and Jace—being the mature brother and postive role model that he is—stuck out his tongue at her. 

" _Now_ we can work on the project," Alec said, turning back around. 

"Yes," Clary nodded. "Now we can work on the project."

 

 

**Magnus**

"Thanks for listening," Magnus said, his eyes puffy from crying. "I didn't mean for this to turn into, like, a mini-therapy session."

Catarina smiled. "I'm always here for you, Magnus. You know that, right? You can always, _always_ talk to me, okay?"

Magnus nodded. "Okay," he agreed. 

"Are you tired?" Catarina asked. 

"Yeah, I am," Magnus admitted. He felt more emotionally drained than he had in a long time. 

Catarina took the empty glass of lemon water and the empty bowl of _konro_ and kissed Magnus on the forehead. "Sorry," she said immediately. "It's just what I do with Madzie..."

"No, that's okay." Magnus smiled sleepily. "My mother used to kiss me on the forehead after she put me to bed, too."

 He was asleep before Catarina left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be prepared for more Magnus & Jace scenes in the next chapter.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter Sixteen**

 

 

 

 

**Alec**

"I really don't understand why you're so nervous," Alec said as his brother paced back and forth in the hall in front of the Latin classroom. "Professor Starkweather is a very nice man."

"He's only nice to you 'cause you're a good student," Jace argued. "That man _hates_ me."

Alec rolled his eyes, seriously questioning why he agreed to go with Jace to ask Starkweather for a change of partners. 

"Okay," said Jace, and Alec could've sworn he was flexing his muscles. "I'm ready."

Before he could open the door, it flew open, narrowly missing Jace's nose. 

"What the hell?" Jace cursed, and Starkweather's head popped around the corner. 

"Oh, hello, Alec," he greeted Alec, smiling at him. He glanced over at Jace and nodded briefly before turning back to the older boy. "What do you two want?"

"Jace wanted to ask you something," Alec started, giving his brother a very pointed look. 

Starkweather looked over at Jace, who readjusted the backpack on his shoulders and cleared his throat several times nervously. 

"What do you want, Mr. Lightwood?" Starkweather asked impatiently. "I do have more important things to do than stand around and wait for you to spit out whatever it is you want."

"I was just wondering if I could, um, switch partners?" Jace suggested. Alec found it amusing to see his usually confident brother so nervous. 

"And why do you want to change partners?" Starkweather asked, sighing. 

"Because Kaelie doesn't know anything!" Jace cried, gesturing wildly. 

Starkweather shrugged nonchalantly. "Neither do you." 

Alec stifled a laugh behind the palm of his hand. 

"That's exactly my point!" Jace agreed, deciding to ignore the professor's little digs at him. "We're both going to fail if we're partnered together."

Starkweather looked over at Alec, who nodded. "It's true," he said. "They're both complete idiots."

Jace shot Alec a glare out of the side of his eyes, and Alec got the feeling he very desperately wanted to raise a certain finger at him. 

"And who's partner do you wish to become?" Starkweather asked. Alec could've sworn he saw his professor's lips twitch slightly. 

"Magnus Bane." Jace couldn't keep the groan out of his voice. 

"Magnus Bane?" Starkweather couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. "I didn't realize you two were friends."

"Oh, we're not," Jace corrected, "but Alec seems to think that he can help me raise my grade in this class."

"Magnus is excellent at Latin, sir," Alec jumped in. "He's becoming a good friend of mine, and I know he'd be willing to partner with Jace." He flashed a charming smile at the professor, knowing that what he just said was a bit of a stretch. "Plus, if Jace gets anything lower than a C, he won't be able to play basketball anymore, and he's the star player."

"It's true," Jace agreed, and Alec sent him a look that said, _Modest_ _much?_

Shaking his head, Starkweather said, "I don't usually let my students switch partners, Mr. Lightwood, and I don't want the class to think I'm giving you special treatment."

"Professor, please," Alec said, continuing where Jace left off. "My brother needs all the help he can get"—that earned him a sharp jab in the arm—"and Magnus is the perfect person to do that. Please."

Sighing heavily, Starkweather glanced at his watch. Alec knew it was almost time for first period. 

"Alright, fine," Starkweather caved in, and pointed a finger at Alec. "But only because I trust your judgment, Alec. You're one of the best students I've ever had in my thirty-five years of teaching at Idris."

Feeling his cheeks grow warm, Alec shook his head modestly. "I'm really not that good..." he trailed off. 

"Don't be shy about it, Alec," Starkweather said. "You never get anything below an A on the quizzes, and you're well behaved."

"Well, thank you, sir." Alec said, and Jace hooked his arm around Alec's. 

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, you love Alec. Let's _go_ ," Jace interrupted, yanking Alec back down the hall, not even giving him a chance to tell Starkweather to "Have a nice day."

"Jace!" Alec scolded him, readjusting his backpack on his shoulders. "You could be nicer to the man; he is letting you be partners with Magnus."

"Only because you're his favorite student." Jace lowered his voice to match Hodge's gravelly voice. "You never get anything below an A on the tests, Alec. You're the best student I've had in thirty-five years. It's a shame your brother is such a screw-up."

"You're not a screw-up," a voice from behind them said, and Alec and Jace both turned around to see Clary. 

"Oh...uh...hey," greeted Jace awkwardly, running his hands through his slicked back hair. 

"You're not a screw-up," Clary repeated insistently. She began walking with them. "We all have our strengths and weaknesses. For example, one of Alec's weaknesses is opening up to people."

"What?" Alec said, stopping at his locker. "I don't have trouble opening up to people."

"Yeah, you do," Jace agreed with Clary, clapping Alec on the shoulder. "Hate to break it to you, buddy."

As he and Clary continued making his way down the hallway, Alec observed Jace slowly letting his hand drift down to rest right next to Clary's.

 

 

**Magnus**

Even though Magnus wasn't fully over his cold yet, he didn't have a fever, so Catarina made him go to school. It was a long and exhausting argument, but Magnus eventually gave in after Catarina reminded him that he if didn't go to school, he would have to go another day without seeing Alec.

Walking into Professor Starkweather's classroom, Magnus headed toward his usual seat at the back of the class, and was surprised when he saw Jace Lightwood sitting at the desk next to his. 

"Hello," Magnus said slowly, his nose still stuffed up. "What are you doing here?"

"I have Latin this period, too, you know," Jace replied shortly, not looking up at him. 

"Oh, I know," Magnus said. "I remember because of that one time when you tried to intimidate me about Alec and whatnot."

A hint of a smirk found its way onto Jace's mouth. "I remember that," he said, almost sounding as if he were enjoying reminiscing about the confrontation. "Good times."

"What do you want, Jerry?" Magnus asked, calling Jace the wrong name on purpose just to rile him up. 

"My name is Jace," Jace sputtered, finally looking up at Magnus. "How do you mix that up with Jerry? They sound nothing alike!"

"My bad, Jerry," Magnus responded, enjoying the way Jace's face was steadily growing redder and redder. 

He settled in, taking out his binder for the class when he saw the professor make his way back to Magnus. 

"Magnus, good, you're here," Starkweather greeted. His eyes flicked over to Jace. "Oh, good, you're already sitting with Mr. Lightwood. I just wanted to let you know that I reassigned Kaelie to work with the new girl over there, Maia."

Magnus quirked an eyebrow. "What's going on?" he asked. 

"You and Mr. Lightwood are partners for the group project," Starkweather explained. "I originally had Mr. Lightwood partnered with Kaelie, but he and Alec came in this morning and asked me to change it."

Magnus glared at Jace.  _"You asked if we could be partners?"_

"Yes, he did." Starkweather's voice was crisp and stern. "And no more switching. You two are partners. Deal with it." With that, he walked away. 

"Dude," Magnus said, crossing his arms. 

"Alec was the one who convinced me," Jace argued. Magnus perked up when he heard Alec's name. "He said you were good at Latin and that you could help me."

"Alec said that?" A warm feeling grew in Magnus's stomach at the thought of Alec talking about him to his family.

"Yeah...?" Jace shook his head. "So, we're partners now. There's nothing we can do about it."

"Let's just work quietly," Magnus suggested. "We don't even have to speak to each other."

"Great."

"Great!"

"Good."

"Good!"

"Fine."

"Fine!"

"Boys!" Starkweather barked. "Zip. It."

***

"Shh," Jace hissed, gripping his pen so tight in his hand his knuckles were turning white. 

"I'm not doing anything," Magnus hissed back, forcing himself to keep working. 

"I can hear you breathing," Jace said. "You're also starting to have a whistle in your nose, too, and it's annoying me."

"What happened to not talking?" Magnus asked. "Let's go back to doing that."

"I just need to get a good grade on this," Jace continued. "If my grades get any worse, I may not be allowed to play on the basketball team."

"Oh _no_ ," Magnus answered, the sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Not the _basketball_ team."

"Don't mock me. Basketball is just about the only thing I'm actually good at."

"You're good at annoying people," Magnus suggested helpfully, "so you've got that going for you." Magnus rolled his eyes. "You have a perfect life, you do realize that, don't you? You have nothing to complain about."

They were both silent as the minutes ticked by, and Magnus was just starting to get into the routine of things when Jace opened his mouth to start talking. 

"Don't." His voice was low. "Don't tell me anything about my life. You don't know anything about my life or about me, and I don't appreciate you assuming that I live on some magical, fluffy pink clouds in the sky, okay?" 

"You have parents who are actually around," Magnus argued. "You have two siblings who are great and who love you unconditionally. I see how you just take that for granted."

"My life hasn't always been like that, you know." Even though Jace's voice appeared calm on the surface, Magnus could sense the undertones of building anger. 

"I'm just so annoyed by how you pretend to be better than everyone around you. Woah, you're on the basketball team, I'm _super impressed._ You're like a typical bad boy who's good-looking, doesn't get good grades, and acts like a jerk to everyone."

Jace paused. "You think I'm good-looking?"

Magnus shrugged. "In a platonic sort of way. You're not really my type." He shook his head. "But that's besides the point. Did you not hear _anything_ else I said?"

"No, I heard it. I just decided to be polite and ignore those false accusations." 

"Okay. Tell me what the worst thing to ever happen to you was, and I'll tell you mine. Then we'll see who's right." Magnus set his pen down and leaned back in the chair, fingers interlocked behind his head. "Go on," he urged Jace, "I'm listening."

For a second, Magnus thought Jace wasn't going to say anything. He watched as Jace clenched his teeth together, ran a hand through well-pampered hair, then clicked his pen in and out a few times. Magnus was about to say something to him, but then Jace opened his mouth: 

"My birth father killed my falcon." 

Magnus's mouth fell open. 

"Yeah," Jace said, noticing Magnus's expression. "When I was, like, six or seven. Before Maryse and Robert took me in."

"I..." Magnus trailed off, not knowing what to say anyway. He was struck by how a similar thing had happened to him as a child. 

"Yeah," Jace said again. "Your turn."

"Huh?" 

"You said that if I told you my worst memory, you'd tell me yours. So..." Jace raised his eyebrows at Magnus. "I'm waiting to hear all about your traumatic past."

"Oh. Right." Magnus forced himself to keep talking. "Well, my father wasn't a good man. He would get drunk and then come home late at night and hit my mom. My mother did everything she could to keep me away from his abuse. When he came home, she always sent me to my room to lock the door, and then after school, we'd go out to dinner and ice cream." Magnus didn't dare look up at Jace; he didn't want to see the pity etched on his face. "Actually, one of my worst memories isn't all that different from yours. He killed my cat."

Now it was Jace's mouth that fell open. 

"And that was _after_ he beat my mother black-and-blue," Magnus finished, noticing his hands had become clenched into fists during some part of his story. 

"He told me to tame the falcon," Jace said, and Magnus was confused before realizing that he was talking about his birth father again. "It took months, but I did it. I got the falcon to listen to me. When I went to show him, I thought he'd be proud. Instead, he snapped the falcon's neck in two right in front of me. He said that I made it love me, and he wanted me to make it obedient. Now I know that to love is to destroy, and to be loved is to be the one destroyed." 

"That's sick," Magnus said. "Twisted, too."

"Tell me about it." Jace's voice carefully held back any sort of emotion. "I had to live with the guy for ten years. Just us two, alone. But then someone called the police on him, and I was put in the foster care system, and that was how Maryse and Robert found me." He looked at Magnus, dead in the eye. "At least you had your mom to distract you from everything else shitty in your life. There was nobody like that around for me."

Magnus opened his mouth, but Jace interrupted him. "Please, for the love of God, don't say you're sorry. I've heard that so many times from so many different people. You didn't do anything, so don't apologize. My father is the one who should apologize."

"Has he?" Magnus asked. "Ever apologized?"

Jace snorted. "Has _your_ father?"

Magnus pressed his lips together. He and Jace both knew the answer. 

"Sorry," Magnus muttered. "Not for your father; for saying that you have the perfect life. I didn't mean to bring up all these bad memories."

Jace shrugged. "It's cool, man."

"I guess we have a lot more in common than we thought," Magnus commented, and Jace chuckled. "What?" Magnus asked. 

"Besides the fact that we have Daddy issues, we have nothing in common," Jace argued. 

"We both care about Alec," Magnus pointed out. "And we're both good-looking—and maybe I'm a little more good-looking than you, but that's nothing to brag about."

"I agree with the Alec thing," Jace admitted, "but we're going to have to come back to the good-looking thing."

Magnus smiled as the bell rang. _Maybe,_ he thought, _Jace isn't so bad after all._

Little did he know that Jace was thinking the exact same thing. 


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter Seventeen**

 

 

 

**Alec**

"I must admit, Alexander, I had no idea you had friends at school," Maryse said to her oldest son as Clary and Magnus filed in through the doorway.

"It's just for a project at school," Alec said, ignoring the sting in his chest at his mother's careless words. 

"Look at his hair!" Maryse pointed, looking scandalized. Magnus self-consciously ran a hand over his mohawk with pink tips. 

"Mom!" Izzy sounded equally as scandalized. 

"It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month." Magnus sounded unbothered by Maryse's accusing finger. "I'm supporting the fight."

"Okay, Maryse, can you please let us start on our homework?" Jace asked. Maryse gave him a surprised smile. 

"I'm glad to see you take an interest in academics, Jace." With one last twitch in her lips as she looked at Magnus, she headed back up the stairs back to her office. 

"Good riddance," Izzy muttered. 

 

***

 

"I call a study break!" Jace announced, throwing his pencil down. He leaned back in the chair and propped his feet up on the table. 

"I have to pee!" Clary jumped up and ran towards the bathroom. 

"Get your feet off the table, you animal—we eat off it." Alec swatted Jace in the shoulder with a rolled-up poster board. 

Magnus laughed. Alec watched his glittery shirt ride up just a little so he could see his smooth skin as he stretched. Alec looked up and caught Magnus staring at him. He blushed and looked away quickly. 

"So how's your project coming along?" Alec asked Jace, feeling his cheeks burn. 

"It's actually pretty decent," Magnus answered. "I thought Jackson here would slow me down, but he's better at this than he thinks." 

"Who's Jackson?" Izzy asked, strolling into the kitchen. 

"It's Jace," Jace said through gritted teeth, staring at Magnus. "I don't understand why he can't get my name right."

Alec chuckled as the conversation lapsed into silence. 

"I'm back!" Clary bounded into the room. "What did I miss?" She looked around the table excitedly and seemed disappointed that nothing had really happened. 

Jace cleared his throat. "Hey, Alec, can we talk somewhere private for a sec?" Alec noticed he was sitting up straighter, and his expression had changed from annoyance at Magnus to something Alec didn't know how to describe. 

Confused, Alec nodded. He let Jace begin to pull him out of the living room. 

"Can I come?" Izzy asked.

"No." Jace's voice was firm. Alec wondered what was making him so uptight. 

Alec mouthed _sorry_ to his sister who had begun to pout. 

"Okay, what is this about?" Alec asked. He and Jace were standing in the hallway. 

"Shh!" Jace hissed at Alec. "Keep your voice down. There's a reason I brought you here to talk away from everyone else."

"I'd love to hear it." Alec did, however, bring his voice down a little. 

Jace shifted from one foot to the other nervously, and Alec crossed his arms. "If you don't stop doing that in the next five seconds, I'm leaving."

"Okay, okay." Jace let out a sigh. "It's about Clary."

Alec frowned. "What about Clary?"

"Just, you know, like, what do you think of her?" Jace was trying hard to sound nonchalant, but Alec could hear an underlying tension to it all the same. 

"What do I think of her?" 

Jace nodded. 

"I like her," Alec shrugged, still not understanding why Jace had to ask him about Clary in private. 

"You do?" Jace's voice wasn't so nonchalant anymore—Alec had no idea _what_ it was now. 

Nodding, Alec replied. "Yeah, what's not to like?" He continued, "I mean, she can be very perky and bouncy and happy all the time, which is a little exhausting, but I still like her. Can we get back to our friends now?" Alec knew it was stupid, but he got a little thrill from saying our friends. 

"Hang on." Jace pressed his lips together and said through semi-clenched teeth, "Describe what you mean when you say that you like her."

"Huh?" Jace didn't say anything, and Alec suddenly remembered a couple days ago in school when he noticed Jace and Clary walking off together. He specifically remembered seeing his brother drop his hand next to Clary's, almost as if he meant to hold it. 

"Ohhhh..." Alec said, realization dawning over him. 

"What?" Jace asked. 

"You like Clary," Alec's mouth was open wide. "I mean, you _like like_  Clary."

Jace snorted. "'Like like'? What, are we back in middle school?"

"No." Alec held up a hand. "You are not deflecting with sarcasm. You have a crush on Clary, don't you?"

"Yeah," Jace's voice was hesitant. "You better not tell anyone." Alec knew his brother wouldn't want him to make a huge scene out of it. 

"You know Izzy's going to be furious when she hears that you told me first," Alec joked. 

Jace let out a short bark of laughter. "Yeah, I should probably start to lock my door at night." His tension faded away. "'Kay, now we can go back."

"Wait." Alec grabbed his arm. "You wanted to know whether or not I had a crush on Clary so you wouldn't feel bad about making a move? That's why you were interrogating me?"

"I wouldn't call it an _interrogation_ per se, but..." Jace shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

Alec nodded, heart pounding as he and Jace returned to the living room. He knew what he needed to do. It was time. 

"There you guys are!" Izzy said. She had gotten a popsicle from who-knows-where, and a trickle of red juice was slowly sliding down her hand. "What were you two doing?"

"Jace just had a few questions on academics and stuff like that." Alec shrugged. "No biggie." He wondered if his nonchalant voice sounded as forced as Jace's did. 

"We should probably get back to work," Clary suggested, but for once, there was very little enthusiasm in her voice. 

As Alec took his place next to Clary, he noticed Magnus staring at him. When he saw him, Magnus raised his eyebrows, almost like he was asking Alec, _Are you alright?_

"Actually, before we start, I have something I need to say." Alec felt his heart hammer in his chest. He glanced up at his sister, who had frozen mid-lick. She looked at him with questioning eyes, and he nodded subtly. 

"What?" Jace's voice was sharp, and Alec knew he was probably wondering if he was going to share his secret crush to everyone. 

"It's about me." Alec noticed Jace relax slightly. "Not to sound self-centered, or anything."

He bit his lip hard—so hard he thought he broke skin, but he didn't. He felt a hand rub his comfortingly on the back, and he turned to see Clary give him a sweet smile. 

"Take your time." She kept rubbing him on the back. 

"Thanks." Alec took a deep breath and began, "This is something I've been struggling with for a while now, and I'm really _fucking_ scared to do this, but... I'm gay."

There was silence. Alec squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see anyone's facial expression. 

"Are you serious?" Jace asked, the first one to speak. 

"Why would he be lying?" Izzy's voice was quick and sharp, ready to defend Alec. 

Alec's eyes flew open when he felt Clary throw herself around him, giving him a warm hug. Even though Alec was several inches taller than her, he curled into the hug and let her comfort him. 

"Hang on..." Jace pointed an accusing finger at his sister. "Did you know about this?"

Izzy nodded. "Yeah, and Alec"—she turned to look at her brother—"I'm still disappointed that we haven't discussed cute boys in the school yet."

"Why didn't you tell me first?" Jace sounded indignant. 

"I didn't know how you'd react. I figured Izzy would be the safer option." Alec dared himself to look at Magnus, who had yet to say anything. Everything else faded to background noise when Magnus didn't meet his eyes. 

 

 

**Magnus**

He needed to breathe. He needed to breathe and take some time to think. He headed out into the crisp October air, standing in the courtyard. It was so chilly that he could see his breath when he exhaled. He really should've brought his jacket outside with him.

He couldn't stop replaying that moment right before Alec said those two words. He had a feeling he knew what Alec was about to say, but he still hadn't expected Alec to actually go through with it. Magnus internally cursed himself for leaving; out of the four of them, he was the one who knew what Alec was going through best. Yet he had walked out. 

Magnus turned to go back in, but stopped when he saw Alec coming out the front door.

"Are you mad at me?" 

Magnus blinked. Out of everything Alec could've said, that one wouldn't even be listed in the top ten. 

"No, why would I be mad at you?"

Alec shrugged. "You didn't say anything when I came out, so I thought..." His voice trailed off as he stared down firmly at his shoes. 

"How long have you known?" Magnus asked, wanting to know if this was a recent thing or not. 

"I first started wondering when I was eleven or twelve, but I didn't accept it until now. I still don't think I'm totally comfortable with it yet." Alec's clear blue eyes made his way up to meet Magnus's eyes. "How long have you known?"

"I've known for sure since I was, like, thirteen or fourteen. I came out on my fourteenth birthday on social media. I didn't want anyone to get fake ideas about who I am before I even started high school." Magnus remembered the feeling in his chest as he clicked Post. He remembered how, even though there were slurs and hateful comments posted below, there were twice as many comments filled to the brim with love and support. 

Alec took a slow step closer to where Magnus was standing. "That's really brave of you. You're braver than me."

"No, I'm not. Coming out to strangers online is relatively easy. Coming out to your loved ones is hard, because you know your heart will shatter if they push you away because of your sexuality." Magnus felt a deep sadness rise up. "I never had the opportunity to come out to my parents, Alexander."

"I'm sorry." Magnus could tell Alec was being sincere. "You're still really brave, though."

Alec stepped even closer to Magnus, and all of a sudden, Magnus had a flashback to the time when Izzy and Jace locked them together in the janitor's closet. They were touching almost everywhere, and Magnus shivered. 

Alec cleared his throat. "Um, c-can I...I was just wondering if..."

"Kiss me, Alexander," Magnus whispered. And he did.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for Camille to be a bitch.

**Chapter Eighteen**

 

 

 

**Magnus**

_Magnus Bane has added Alec Lightwood, Izzy Lightwood, Jace Lightwood, and Biscuit to a group chat._

**Magnus:** _Hey, everyone._

 **Izzy:** _Hi, Magnus!_

 **Izzy:** _Hey, Magnus._

 **Jace:** _What, Magnus?_

 **Magnus:** _I was just wondering if you’d want to go trick-or-treating with me._

 **Jace:** _What are we, six?_

 **Izzy:** _Oooh, yessss. I haven’t been trick-or-treating in forever. Have I mentioned that I’ve been craving Reese’s pieces lately?_

 **Alec:** _Would we have to dress up?_

 **Magnus:** _No, of course not._

 **Jace:**   _Hard no from me._

 **Izzy:** _Yes. You have to wear a costume. Don’t be like the Grinch._

 **Jace:** _Wrong holiday, Iz._

 **Biscuit:** _Hey, I just saw this. I was planning on going to Camille’s Halloween party, but I think I’m gonna go with you guys instead. Magnus, Camille’s not happy with you, btw._

 **Jace:** _I have a few ideas about what Camille can do with herself._

 **Biscuit:** :D

 **Magnus:** _Pshh. I honestly don’t give a crap anymore. So...is it settled? Are we all going trick-or-treating?_

 **Izzy:** _Yep. Let’s all go costume shopping after school tomorrow._

 **Alec:** _There’s no way for me to get out of wearing a costume, is there?_

 **Izzy:** _Nope!_ <3

 **Jace:** _Fine. But I want my reluctance to be made very clear._

 **Izzy:** _Your reluctance is noted, dearest brother._

 **Biscuit:** _Is it okay if I bring an old friend I’ve had since elementary school? His name is Simon; I think you’ve already met him, Magnus._

 **Magnus:** _The nerd obsessed with manga and Star Wars? Of course he can come, biscuit._

 **Izzy:** _Who else is excited? And don’t you dare pretend you’re not._

 **Alec:** _I don’t know what you’re talking about..._

 **Magnus:** _I’m excited!_

 **Biscuit:** _Definitely! Jace?_

 **Jace:** _...Maybe a little._

 

***

 

”No,” Magnus heard Alec say from the aisle over. “No, no, no...Really, Izzy?”

He peeked his head around the corner and saw Izzy holding up a glittery blue and green mermaid costume complete with a little vial of face glitter and coconut shells tied together into a poorly-constructed bra. He snickered, and Alec looked up at him.

”Please help me,” he pleaded. “She wants me to put _makeup_ on.”

”Magnus wears makeup,” Izzy pointed out. “What’s your point?”

Smirking, Magnus shrugged and said, “Personally, I think you’d be ravishing in makeup, Alexander.”

It was amusing to see the flush of embarrassment creep up over Alec’s entire face.

”How do you guys think I look in this wig?” Clary draped the long, blonde wig over her red curls and spun in a circle.

”What are you going as?” Alec asked.

”I think I’m gonna go as Rapunzel.” Clary beamed. “I’m still trying to convince Jace to be Flynn Rider. He wants to be a pirate just so he can have an eye patch and a hook and a parrot on his shoulder.” Despite her annoyed tone of voice, she smiled and rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Magnus founded it endearing. _Golden Boy better not break her heart,_ he thought.

”Where’s your friend?” Magnus asked suddenly, noticing the absence of Simon.

”He has band practice. They’ve decided to officially call the band Rock Solid Panda,” Clary answered, adjusting the wig on her head.

”Your friend’s in a band?” Izzy asked, tilting her head to a side. “Are they any good?”

”Not really,” Clary muttered. “They basically just sit around and argue about band names—I don’t know what they’re gonna do now that they’ve finally decided what they’re calling the band.

”Arrrgh, mateys!” Jace leaped out from behind Clary, and she shrieked.

”You idiot!” She crossed her arms. “You should be glad I don’t have an actual frying pan with me.”

”Seriously, though.” Jace held up the pirate costume in front of himself. “Don’t I look dashing?” He flashed them all one of his blinding smiles.

”What if we all go as Disney characters?” Magnus suggested. “I mean, Clary’s going as Rapunzel, and Izzy’s going as Princess Jasmine.” He grinned. “I could go as Li Shang from _Mulan_!”

Izzy squealed. “Oh my god, Magnus, you’re a freaking genius.”

Magnus shrugged nonchalantly. “I know.”

Magnus looked at Alec and saw a dubious expression on his face. “What Disney prince would I go as?” he asked, wrinkling his nose.

”Prince Eric from _The Little Mermaid_ , obviously,” Magnus answered immediately. Izzy nodded her agreement. “He has black hair and blue eyes, too.” Magnus was tempted to add, “You’re much more handsome, though,” but he restrained himself.

There was a high-pitched, shrill laugh from behind Magnus, and he turned around to see Camille Belcourt and Lydia Branwell walking towards them.

”Oh, great,” he heard Izzy sarcastically mutter under her breath.

”Aww, how cute,” Camille started, twirling a strand of blonde hair around her long, painted fingernail. “Dressing up as Disney characters. _Very_ mature.”

”What’s wrong with Disney?” Izzy asked, annoyance creeping up in her voice.

”Oh, nothing...” Camille trailed off, smirking.

”You know C.S. Lewis once said, ‘Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again’,” Alec quoted, his voice soft and uncertain.

”Alec!” Camille turned to face Alec, a slow smile spreading across her face. “Hey.”

As Camille gave Alec a look she probably thought was seductive, Magnus looked over at Lydia. He watched ss she bit her lip, looked down at her feet, and let her hair fall in front of her face. When she caught him observing her, he didn’t even try to look away.

Camille cleared her throat, hopefully realizing she wasn’t getting any closer to seducing Alec. “Anyway, do you want to see my costume?”

”Not particularly?” Jace answered, but Camille ignored him.

”I’m going as an angel,” she continued, holding up the costume bag.

”How ironic,” Magnus muttered, half-hoping Camille would hear him.

”Tell them what you’re going as, Lydia,” Camille urged, gently folding the costume back into the cart. She spoke to Lydia like a mother trying to convince her child to eat their vegetables.

”I’m going as a devil,” Lydia said, not sounding particularly thrilled about it.

Camille beamed. “It was my idea.” She tossed her hair back and looked, for the first time, over at Clary.

“Oh, hey,” she said, her voice turning icy.

”Hi, Camille.” Clary sounded small and scared, just like Lydia. Magnus wondered if he sounded small and scared when he was hanging out with Camille 24/7.

”What is _that_ on your head?” Camille waved a hand in the general direction of Clary’s head.

Self-consciously, Clary yanked off the blonde Rapunzel wig. “It was just an idea for a costume,” she explained. “I wanted to go as Rapunzel.”

”Oh, honey,” Camille began in a voice that was dripping in false sympathy, “I hate to break it to you, but that wig does _not_ look good on you. It makes you look even paler and more washed out than usual.”

”Hey!” Magnus stepped forward. “Leave her alone.” Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jace pull Clary in closer to him.

”Oh, how sweet. You know, it’s not nice lie to someone; especially about something as important as looks. Clary would’ve never known how awful she looked if I hadn’t told her. I mean”—Camille cast a long, dramatic look over the group—“it’s not like these losers have any fashion sense.”

”Wow.” Izzy’s voice was loud and unforgiving. “You really _are_ a bitch.”

”Magnus, your friends are being mean to me,” Camille whined, sticking her bottom lip out.

”Just leave already,” Magnus said. “I’m sick of you being so mean all the time.”

The second he finished his sentence, Camille’s entire face changed. Her posture stiffened, her knuckles turned white as she clutched her purse, and her face hardened.

”Fine. I _was_ going to give you a chance to say sorry to me, but I guess I have your answer already.” Camille glared deep into Magnus’s eyes, and despite everything, he felt his body cringe. “You’re going to regret this, Magnus. All of you are.”

She stomped away, and Lydia quickly began scurrying after as fast as she could while also pushing the cart.

”My house,” Magnus said firmly. “8:00. Let’s make this the best Halloween ever.”

 

 

**Alec**

“I feel ridiculous,” Alec said for what had to be the millionth time since putting on his costume. He had decided to go as Prince Eric from _The Little Mermaid_ after all, and he was wearing a white button-up shirt with long blue pants that were rolled up around the ankle. He didn’t have any black boots—and he refused to wear Izzy’s—so he just wore his regular shoes.

it wasn’t the clothes, however, that was making him feel silly: it was the abundant amount of hair products Izzy had sprayed in his hair. She claimed it was because he had “incurable bedhead.” Alec didn’t know how Jace walked around every day with so much hairspray like this.

”I feel great,” Jace responded. He had decided to abide by Clary’s wishes and dress up as Flynn Rider. He was particularly proud of the satchel, which he was using as a bag to carry his candy in. “Clary was right. Flynn Rider is awesome.”

Alec met his sister’s gaze in the rearview mirror. _Where is this new Jace coming from?_ Alec wondered, and Izzy glanced over at Jace and a little smile made its way onto her lips. It was nice to see Jace actually be invested in a romantic relationship for once.

”I feel great, too,” Izzy said. She was wearing a light blue crop top and had gotten matching leggings. Her hair was tied with several ponytail holders, and was wearing the necklace Magnus had given her. Her eyes were lined with black makeup—mascara? Eyeliner? Alec hadn’t the faintest idea—and her lips were dark red.

Alec pulled into the driveway and gave his keys to Jace, who dropped them in his satchel. They all got out of the car, and as soon as the front door opened, Alec felt his mouth go dry.

There stood Magnus, looking like some kind of god. He was wearing tight, form-fitting black leggings, and his bare chest was caramel-colored and muscular. Magnus’s black hair was out of its usual mohawk and was resting flat against his neck in a low bun. Alec couldn’t stop himself from staring.

Magnus smirked as the Lightwoods walked up to the front door. “Like what you see?” he murmured as Alec walked by him.

Speechless, Alec simply nodded hopelessly.

”I like what I see, too.” Magnus winked, and Alec’s cheeks felt warm.

”Alright, enough flirting you two,” Jace interrupted loudly. “Is Clary here yet?”

”Yeah, she’s in the bathroom,” Magnus responded, never once taking his eyes off Alec.

There was a loud pounding on the staircase, and a short, brown-haired guy with glasses popped out of seemingly nowhere.

”Hey, everyone!” the boy greeted happily, beaming. “I’m Simon, Clary’s friend.”

”Simon, this is Jace, Izzy, and Alec,” Magnus introduced, pointing to each person as he introduced them.

”Hey,” greeted Izzy, wiggling her fingers as Simon stared at her, his mouth open slightly.

”What are you dressed as?” Alec asked, taking in the boy’s all black outfit. He also didn’t like the way he was looking at his sister.

”Darth Vader, obviously.” The boy, Simon, managed to pull his gaze away from Izzy. Alec frowned. He knew he’d heard that name from somewhere, but he didn’t know exactly what. 

“Seriously?” Simon sounded incredulous. “Do you really not know who Darth Vader is? He’s from _Star Wars_. C’mon, man.”

”Oh...” Alec trailed off, not having anything else to say.

”Oh, Jace, you’re here!” Clary walked out, fixing the long blonde wig on her head. It was so long that some of the longest hairs brushed against her ankles.

”Clary, you look great,” Jace said, and Clary spun in a circle, the dress flaring out. Alec noticed Clary’s friend glaring daggers at Jace. What was the matter? Jace hadn’t been a jerk to him—yet—so there was no reason to hate him.

”So, are we all ready?” Magnus asked, making sure no loose hairs were sticking out from his bun.

Before anyone could answer, the doorbell rang, and they all stared at Magnus in confusion.

”Is someone else coming?” Izzy asked, and Magnus shook his head.

”I didn’t invite anyone, at least.” Magnus opened the door, and there stood four people standing outside on the porch. Alec only barely recognized the boy on the far end as Jordan Kyle. They had been partners on a project last year.

”Hey,” Magnus greeted, sounding surprised. “Uh, what are you doing here?” He gasped. “Oh, shit. I forgot to buy some candy from the store to hand out.”

”We’re not here for candy,” Jordan said. “We’re here for the party.”

”Party?” Magnus echoed, looking over his shoulder at everyone else, and they all shrugged. “Sorry, I’m not throwing a party tonight.”

”Yeah, you are,” another boy argued, holding out his phone for Magnus to see. “Camille sent out a text notifying everyone that she moved her Halloween party to your house.”

”That bitch!” Jace roared.

The four boys moved as if to come in, but Magnus quickly slammed the door shut in their faces. Alec could hear their muffled protests from behind the closed door.

”We can go out the back way,” Magnus said, locking the front door. “Hopefully they’ll leave when they realize what Camille did.”

 

 

**Magnus**

“That guy was definitely a serial killer in a past life,” Jace said as they walked away from the house. 

“Maybe he was just getting into the spirit of Halloween,” Clary aruged.

”I get that, but still. Don’t open the door with a knife—especially not a _real_ one.”

As the others in the group chimed in with reasons why or why not the man was a serial killer, Magnus hung back and began walking with Simon.

”What’s the matter?” Magnus asked quietly. “When I first met you, you couldn’t shut up. Why are you being so quiet now?”

Simon didn’t say anything for a second, then gestured at Clary and Jace, who were now looking at each other with obvious affection.

”Look how happy she is with him,” he said, a sense of hopelessness creeping into his voice. “I make her laugh and stuff, but nothing like what Jace does.”

”How long have you liked Clary?” Magnus asked.

Simon shrugged. “Since we first met back in elementary school. Our moms put me in charge of walking her to school and making sure she got there safely just because I was a year older. I remember holding her hand as I reminded her to look both ways before crossing the street. My older sister makes fun of me for having a crush on her, but she doesn’t know how right she actually is. I’ve never said a word about this to Clary; I used to think that it could actually happen because she never talked about having crushes on boys at school, but now...” He shook his head and laughed bitterly. “Welcome to my pity party.”

”Hey, what’s going on back there?” Izzy asked, turning around to look at Magnus and Simon. “Stop walking so slowly.”

She held back, waiting for them to catch up with her. A second later, Alec joined them.

”I can’t deal with those two up there for much longer,” Alec explained. “They should just declare their love for each other and get married already.”

”You think they’re gonna get married?” Simon’s voice was quiet.

”What?” Alec looked surprised. “I mean, they do seem to really like each other, and I’ve never seen Jace act like this before—” He broke off when he saw Magnus’s expression. “But they’re not even officially dating yet, so wh do I know?” he hastened to say.

”So, Simon,” Izzy said, “Clary told us you have a band?”

Simon smiled. “Yeah, we do. Don’t know if you’ve heard, but we’re calling ourselves Rock Solid Panda for the forseeable future.”

”What were some of the other names?” Magnus asked. “Clary may or may not have mentioned that all you did was sit around and argue about band names.” 

“Yeah, we did have a few bad ones. Let’s see...” Simon began counting on his fingers. “When we first got together, it was Lawn Chair Crisis because one band member and his mom got into a huge fight over who broke their lawn chair; then a couple weeks later, it was Champagne Enema because a different band member was backed up and decided to take an enema with champagne—”

”As one does,” Alec deadpanned.

”And then it was Sea Vegetable Conspiracy after that because we were drawing words out of a hat...”

”And then you guys were Lethal Soufflé after Simon got sick from eating one at a restaurant,” Clary chimed in. She and Jace had stopped and waited for the others to catch up.

Magnus snorted. “Oh my god. Those are terrible!”

”But now we’ve all agreed on Rock Solid Panda. You know, having a cool band name is half the battle to become successful,” Simon said knowledgeably. 

“Like One Direction,” Magnus agreed, naming his favorite band. “Harry Styles is dreamy.”

”Hey! We should go to one of your shows, Simon,” Clary said.

”You actually perform?” Alec arched an eyebrow in surprise.

”Yeah, they do. One of the members’ dad owns Java Jones, so they can play there wheneve they want,” Clary explained.

”We do have an open mic night this Friday...”

Clary grinned. “Great. Can we all go?” She looked at Jace. “You can come, right?”

Jace shook his head. “Can’t. Idris is hosting the first basketball game of the season this Friday.”

Clary froze. “Oh my god, I completely forgot about that.” She looked sympathetically at Simon. “I’m really sorry I can’t be there; the cheerleading coach assigned me to be flyer for this game.”

”Oh.” Simon looked crestfallen. “That’s okay.”

”Darn it,” Izzy said, wrapping her arm around Simon. “Alec and I should probably go to support Jace. Are you gonna go, Magnus?”

Magnus hesitated. “I was actually gonna go to the game...”

”Seriously, guys,” Simon said, sounding disappointed. “It’s okay.” He managed to give them a weak smile.

 

 

**Alec**

“I bet I have more candy than you, Lewis,” Jace teased as they headed back towards Magnus’s house. “My satchel is overflowing.”

”That’s because it’s small and pathetic and looks kinda like a fanny pack,” Simon shot back. “I carry around my candy like a real man.” He pretended to weight lift, using his bucket of candy.

Alec rolled his eyes as Izzy, Clary, and Magnus jumped in arguing about how many pieces of candy they had, and whether or not each individual Skittle should be counted as one piece or not.

When they turned onto Magnus’s street, Alec could see in the distance that something was wrong. There were red-and-blue flashing lights parked outside Magnus’s house in the driveway. The sound of indignant yelling could be heard distantly.

”What the fuck?” Magnus noticed the commotion as well and began a surprisingly fast sprint up the street. Alec and the others followed him, slowing down when they saw the chaotic scene in front of them. 

There were multiple empty red cups littered all over the front yard, along with several pieces of trash. People were gagging and throwing up everywhere, which made Alec feel a little nauseous himself. The broken shards of the front window on the far right-hand side glittered in the moonlight, as well as another window on the side of the house. Bold, black graffiti ruined the clean white paint—Alec couldn’t make out what was written. The front door was flung wide ooen, and Alec had a strange urge to laugh when he saw two shoes tied together by the shoelaces and hanging down from a tree branch.

”Officer, what happened?” Magnus asked frantically, turning to the nearest police officer. The man looked up, and his eyes rested on Clary’s.

”Clarissa?”

”Luke!” Clary rushed over to him and gave him a fierce hug. “This is Luke, my mom’s friend from high school,” she explained.

”What happened?” Magnus asked again, too shaken up by the scene before him to care about how Clary knew the officer. “This is my house, I live here. What happened?”

The police officer—Luke—sighed and said, “It’s something we see every year on Halloween: the neighbors call us, complaining about a party that’s gotten out of control. Where are your parents, young man?”

Magnus shook his head. “They’re, uh, not here right now.” He didn’t feel the urge to go into detail about why they were gone and where they were.

Luke’s eyes narrowed. “And were you aware of this party taking place?”

”Luke, he had no idea this was going on,” Clary jumped in. “Trust me. Right before we were going to go trick-or-treating, a couple guys told us that a girl named Camille Belcourt changed the address of her party to Magnus’s house. He locked the front door, and we went out the back way, thinking people would just give up.”

As Clary and Magnus continued to talk with the officer, Alec felt Izzy tugging on his arm. He turned around to see an ambulance pulling up. “Who’s that for?” he asked.

”I have no idea,” she muttered.

Two paramedics jumped out of the ambulance with a stretcher and ran into the house. A minute or two later, they came back out, pushing the stretcher into the back of the ambulance.

”Who is that?” Alec asked, squinting in the darkness.

”It’s a girl named Lydia Branwell,” Luke answered, and Alec’s mouth dropped. “Friends of hers told us that she was participating in a drinking game and passed out.”

”Will she be okay?” Alec asked.

”She should be fine,” Luke reassured Alec in a calm voice. He looked at Magnus. “Come with me, son. We need you to tell us if anything’s missing from the house.”

Before they could walk away, Camille came wobbling up to them, her eyes unfocused and her speech slurred. “This is a mess!” she cried. “My rep...reputation is down the drain.” She mimicked something going down the drain as she stumbled off.

As Magnus walked away with Luke, Alec’s voice shook with anger as he yelled after her. “This is all your fault,” he screamed. “You bitch!” But Camille was too drunk to notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the middle and ending of the story because some people were saying the chapter confused them, and looking back over it, I agree. Plus, this new version has more Simon in it, which is always a good thing, right?


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ THIS: I changed the previous chapter quite a bit, so if you haven’t read the new version this chapter will make zero sense. Some of you have already read the updated version when something happens to Lydia, so if you have, then you’re all caught up.
> 
> Enjoy :)

**Chapter Nineteen**

 

 

 

**Magnus**

Magnus really dreaded walking into the school building as he pulled into the parking lot. He pocketed his keys and sat in the quiet for a few minutes, leaning back in his seat. He knew that everyone had heard about the police being called to his house last night and about Lydia bring taken to the hospital after passing out. He remembered Catarina’s horrified faces as she walked inside the house to a complete and utter wreck. The chandelier in the entrance hall was shattered, there was trash littered everywhere on the floor—empty beer bottles, half-empty chip bags, and candy wrappers—a door to one of the bathrooms had been pulled off its hinges, and the graffiti that had been sprayed on the exterior of the house had found its way inside as well. 

Looking at the time and sighing, Magnus forced himself to sit up and open the door to the car. He made his way to the doors and heard someone shout his name. He turned and saw a familiar redhead bounding across the grass; Clary’s bright red hair was streaked with gold that made it look as if it were glowing in the sunlight.

”How’re you holding up?” she asked as they walked into the building together. “I’m still really shaken up about the whole thing.”

Magnus nodded in agreement. “I am, too. The house is a mes—I was too tired last night to really clean anything up, and I woke up late today, so I couldn’t clean up this morning, either. It’s like living in a pigsty.”

”If you need help cleaning up, I’d be willing to come over,” Clary offered, “and I’m sure the others would be willing as well.”

Magnus flashed her a smirk. “And it would be another opportunity to spend some time with your lover boy, right?”

Clary’s pale cheeks turned dark pink as she playfully punched Magnus in the shoulder. “He’s not my ‘lover boy’,” she protested. “We’re just...good friends.”

”Whatever you say,” Magnus said in a voice that made it clear he didn’t believe her.

”Okay, what about you and Alec?” she retaliated. “Are you two finally dating yet?”

Taking his time before answering her question, Magnus thought back over all the time he and Alec had been around each other. He remembered the first time he’d made him laugh when he called Camille a bitch and how he’d been so pleased with himself.

”Magnus? Hello?” Clary snapped her fingers in front of Magnus’s face. “Are you gonna evade my question forever?”

”I don’t know whether we’re officially dating or not,” Magnus finally answered.

’But you want to, right?” Clary prodded gently. “I mean, Jace, Izzy, and I all know that when Alec followed you out into the courtyard, you two made out.”

”Shh! Keep your voice down!” Magnus hissed as they began to pass by lockers. He was aware of people turning to stare at them as they passed. “Alec’s not out to anyone at school besides us, remember?”

”Sorry.” Clary’s eyes darted every so often to the people who were staring at them. “Do they not realize how awkward they’re making us feel?”

”How many different version of the story do you think people have made up?” Magnus wondered. “Next thing you know, we’ll be hearing about how Jace performed a strip show while standing on a coffee table to Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’.”

”You know, I’d actually consider doing that,” a voice from behind Magnus and Clary said. Magnus didn’t need to turn around to know it was Clary’s lover boy.

”Hey, Jake,” Magnus greeted. “Is Alec with you?”

”Yeah, but his locker’s back there,” Jace answered, pointing his thumb back towards the other end of the hall with his thumb. He glared at some freshman girls who were blatantly pointing at Magnus. “What are you staring at?” he asked menacingly. They squealed and scurried away.

”Don’t _frighten_ them,” Clary admonished, the look in her eye stern as she glanced over at Jace.

”Sorry,” mumbled Jace. He turned to Magnus. “So...uh...how’s the house?” Though his tone was brief and matter-of-fact, Magnus knew that that was Jace’s way of letting Magnus know he cared.

”Pretty bad, to be honest, and it smells like shit,” Magnus said, “but it’ll be fine. When I left, Catarina was still hosing off the graffiti on the side of the house.”

”What about Lydia? She okay?” Jace asked as he stopped at his locker.

”She should be,” responded Magnus. “She’ll probably get released some time this evening—actually, I was planning on going to see her after school; you wanna come?”

”Can’t,” Jace said. “Basketball practice.”

”I can’t either,” Clary spoke, sounding regretful. “Cheerleading practice for the game this Friday.”

Magnus let out a dramatic sigh. “ _Fine._ I’ll ask Alec and Izzy at lunch today.”

 

***

 

”I’m in,” Izzy said immediately, barely letting Magnus finish his sentence. “I’m obviously not the biggest fan of Lydia, but I don’t want her to be hospitalized.”

”Same,” Alec agreed, nodding. “We sit next to each other in Latin, and it was weird today—especially when Starkweather called her name during roll call.”

”Have people been giving you guys weird looks, too?” Jace asked, throwing himself down in the seat. Today’s school lunch menu said it was serving chili, but the liquid in Jace’s bowl looked nothing like the kind of chili Magnus was used to. It was disgusting.

”Yeah,” Izzy said. “Ms. Rosales gave us a lecture in Spanish about safe drinking and peer pressure.” She took a swig of water. “She was getting really animated; of course she was speaking so rapidly in Spanish that no one understood what she was saying, so I don’t think her point came off quite as poignant and impactful as she wanted it to.”

”Starkweather just shook his head and said, ‘Kids these days.’ Then he moved on,” Alec chimed in.

”Magnus.”

”What do you wnat?” Magnus didn’t have to turn around to know who was standing behind him.

There was a sigh and a large _swoosh_ of air as Camille plunked herself down into a chair.

”C’mon, Magnus, don’t be like that,” Camille whined. “I can’t stand it when you’re upset with me.” She rested her hand on Magnus’s arm and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout.

Flinching at the touch, Magnus pulled his arm away without a second thought. “Just leave, Camille. I really don’t want to talk to you rught now.”

Fluffing her hair, she rolled her eyes. “You know, in the end, it’s kind of your fault.”

Magnus’s mouth dropped open. _“How?”_ he asked angrily, barely restraining himself from yelling. “How is that _my_ fault?”

Camille shrugged. “You were practically inviting us in, what with the windows still being unlocked. Not rememberinng to lock the windows is on you.”

”I shouldn’t have to lock the windows!” Magnus spluttered, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists.

”Fine,” Camille huffed, not looking the slightest bit ruffled. “I can tell when I’m not wanted somewhere.” She stood up, and Magnus was shocked the hear Alec call out to stop her.

”What are you _doing_?” Izzy hissed, her dark eyes turning to glare at her older brother.

Magnus watched as Alec swallowed nervously and told Camille, “I just wanted to let you know that Izzy, Magnus, and I are going to go visit Lydia in the hospital after school today—would you like to come with?”

”No!” Izzy punched her brother none too gently in the arm. “Have you gone insane?”

Camille stared at him in confusion. “Why would I want to go visit Lydia?”

Alec stared back at Camille, looking equally as confused. “Well, I just...thought...I mean, she’s your best friend, right? You have to be worried about her.”

”Not really. It’s her fault she can’t handle her alcohol. Besides, I actually can’t go. I can’t stand the smell of hospitals. It literally makes me throw up.” She crossed her arms, still staring at Alec. “May I go back to my table now?”

”Please do,” Jace said.

 

 

**Alec**

As Alec, Izzy, and Magnus stepped through the doors of Beth Israel Hospital, Alec—as much as he hated to agree with Camille—almost became nauseous from the smell. It was the simultaneous smell of medicine, sickness, and sadness. Every time Al took a breath, albeit faintly, he could taste it in the back of his mouth.

”Ah,” Magnus whispered as they walked up to the receptionist in the waiting room, “you gotta love that hospital smell.”

Alec didn’t say anything back. He knew they were all nervous to see Lydia; a million questions had been rushing through his mind all day. Would she be awake? Would she be willing to talk? How much longer would she have to stay in here? What would she look like? Alec realized he’d never seen Lydia not look perfectly put together.

”Lydia Branwell, please,” Izzy said to the receptionist. “We’re her friends.”

The receptionist typed the name into the computer. “Room 55C.”

”Thank you,” Izzy said, and she looked back at Alec and Magnus. “Ready?”

”Not really,” Alec admitted. “But if we stand around any longer, I’m gonna lose my nerve, so let’s go.” He led the way towards the elevaroes and stepped into one thar was conveniently empty.

”I hate imagining Lydia being in here.” Magnus’s voice sounded loud in the quiet. “I sat with her at lunch for four years.”

”It’s Camille’s fault.” Izzy’s voice was firm. “She’s the one who made Lydia drink too much.”

”I know,” Magnus admitted, sounding like the entire weight of the world was on his shoulders. “I just keep thinking that if we’d gotten back sooner, then maybne...” He trailed off.

The elevatir pinged as the doors opened onto the fifth floor. “Room 55C, right?” Alec whispered. The three of them walked down the hallway and stopped outside Lydia’s room.

”What should we say?” Alec asked. “I mean, ‘How are you?’ is kind of redundant.”

”Juzt be comforting,” Magnus suggessted and knocked on the door.

”Good thinking,” Izzy whispered, giving Magnus a thumbs-up. “I was just about ready to barge right in there.”

There was a pause until a weak voice called it, “Who is it?”

”Lydia, it’s me,” Magnus called through the door. “Magnus. I’m with Alec and Izzy. May we come in?”

There was another, even longer pause. Alec shared a nervous look with Izzy and tried to catch Magnus’s eye, but he was focused on the door.

”Okay,” Lydia finally responded.

Magnus pushed the door open, wincing as it creaked.  The room was filled with so much fluorescent light that it was almost blinding. 

“Hey, Lydia,” Alec greeted cautiously.

 She didn’t look as bad as he been picturing. He’d imagined a black eye for some reason and a swollen face. Instead she had deep bags under her eyes, and she looked frightfully pale—even her lips looked pale—but the lighting in the hospital couldn’t have helped. She was hooked up to a machine that was counting the amount of water, blood, sugar, and vitamin levels in her body. 

“Please don’t ask me how I am.” Her voice was raspy when she spoke. “Here’s your answer: They had to pump my stomach, and I just had a windpipe removed that they inserted into me last night to help me breathe.”

”That sounds terrible,” Alec murmured.

”It is,” Lydia agreed. She cast a look at Alec, Magnus, and Izzy and squinted. “Is Camille coming to visit? I was upset this morning that she wasn’t here, but the nurses reminded me about school.”

”No, actually, she can’t be here. She has a...a job interview,” Alec lied. He could feel Izzy and Magnus staring at him, but he didn’t care. He knew how sacred Lydia’s friendship with Camille was to her, and he didn’t want to add the truth about why Camille wasn’t here on top of everything else.

Lydia shook her head. “You’re lying.” There was no question in her voice.

”Yeah, I am,” Alec admitted bashfully.

“Tell me the truth,” she demanded.

”The truth is that she didn’t want to come because she can’t stand the way hospitals smell,” Alec said, his heart sinking at Lydia’s expression. 

“I mean, hospital do smell pretty disgusting,” Lydia said. Alec could see her trying to work out a way to make Camille’s excuse less selfish. “And maybe she’s allergic to...” She didn’t even bother finishing the sentence. Alec reached out a hand to awkwardly pat her on the shoulder, when Lydia burst out crying.

Alec turned to look at his friends, the expression on his face asking, _What do I do?_

“I’m such an idiot,” Lydia sobbed, shaking her head. “I knew she wouldn’t come. I don’t even understand why I’m still friends with her; she’s terrible to me and everyone else around her. She always thinks she’s better than everyone, but she isn’t! I’m sick of it.”

Lydia began hyperventilating, and all three of them rushed to her side.

”Take deep breaths; in and out,” Magnus instructed. “Breathe in, one, two, three, four; breathe out, one, two, three, four.” After doing Magnus’s breathing exercise for a couple minutes, Lydia eventually calmed down.

”Thanks,” she said, taking the tissue Izzy handed her. She dabbed her eyes and yawned.

”If you’re tired, we can leave,” Magnus offered.

”No, I’m just a litte—”

The door flew open then, interrupting Lydia mid-sentence. They all turned to look at who was coming in, and Alec recognized Lydia’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Branwell. Both of them looked flawless, and Alec realized where Lydia had learned to always look pristine.

”Mom? Dad?” Lydia croaked. Alec watched as Lydia’s parents glanced at each other, and a silent look passed between them. Alec wondered what they were thinking.

”How dare you,” her father spoke fist, raising his index finger in the air and shaking it at Lydia. “How dare you do this to your mother and me.”

Wordlessly, Alec stepped away from Lydia’s side, and Izzy and Magnus followed suit.

”I can’t believe you,” Mrs. Branwell said, her voice quivering with anger and...disgust? Alec shook hiss head. He must’ve heard wrong. “Do you know what people are saying about this family now? About how we can’t control our daughter? Wondering what we’ve done to make you act so outrageously? It’s completely tarnished the Branwell reputation!”

Izzy leaned over to whisper to Alec and Magnus. “Shouldn’t she be a little less concerned about what everyone else thinks and care more about how her daughter passed out because Camille made her drink too much?”

”The _spotless_ Branwell reputation,” Mr. Branwell corrected. “You’ve tainted our family name.”

Mrs. Branwell’s eyes began to fill with tears. Mr. Branwell put an arm around her as they walked out of the room together.

”What jerks,” Izzy said without any thought behind what she was saying. She clapped her hands over her mouth, but Lydia didn’t seem to notice.

”They hate me now.” She began to cry again. “They hate me because I ruined their ‘spotless reputation’.”

Izzy handed her another tissue as Lydia began to sob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism is always welcome. I always want to improve on my writing and storytelling abilities.
> 
> EDIT: I just watched the E! People's Choice Awards, and oh...my...gosh. We won 4/5 awards, and Kat and Harry were write-ins! Also, congrats to Harry and Shelby—they're gonna be great parents. Today's a good day/night to be part of the Shadowfam!!! 
> 
> #SaveShadowhunters


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Chapter Twenty**

 

 

 

**Alec**

"...complete and utter jerks!" Izzy finished her rant. She'd been gesturing so wildly and talking so fast that she looked a little flushed. She'd even slipped into a little Spanish she was so animated. "Don't you think?" She turned her head to look at Alec and then twisted in her seat to look at Jace in the backseat.

"I agree with you," Jace said, his tone defensive. "I never said I didn't!"

Alec pulled into the driveway and pocketed his keys. "When Lydia's released from the hospital, I think we should invite her to sit with us at lunch."

There was silence in the car, and Alec glanced over at his sister in the passenger seat. As far as he could tell, the expression on her face hadn't changed. 

"I mean, I'd be cool with that," Jace spoke. "She and Clary seem to be friends. Apparently she has a sense of humor when she's not with You-Know-Who."

Izzy slowly nodded. "I'd be willing to give her a chance," she said as they walked into the house. 

The second Alec and his siblings stepped into the living room, he knew something was off. For one thing, his parents were not in their separate offices upstairs, and Robert was not on his phone, writing furious emails to his employees. Instead, they were sitting on the same couch with a sizable amount of distance between them. Maryse's back was ramrod straight, and as always, her face wore a stern look. 

"Hey," Izzy greeted warily as she set her backpack down on a chair. 

"Get that disgusting bag off my chair," Robert snapped, pointing a finger to the back hallway. "Do you know how many germs are on the bottom of that thing?"

Izzy rolled her eyes and stomped off. 

"Is everything alright?" Alec asked worriedly. "Is something wrong with the baby?"

"No, the baby's fine," Maryse said. Almost unconsciously, her hand drifted to rest on her stomach. Alec could see the baby bump. 

"Then what's the matter?" Jace asked, opening the refrigerator searching for something to eat. 

Alec watched as his parents gave each other a silent look until Robert opened his mouth. "We know about the party at Magnus Bane's house," he said. "We know about Lydia Branwell. We know you three were going trick-or-treating with Magnus Bane."

"How do parents always know everything?" Izzy complained, walking back into the living room. 

Maryse ignored her daughter. "Were you three at that party? And _don't_ lie," she added, narrowing her eyes. 

"No, we weren't," Alec said. "I mean, we did go trick-or-treating with Magnus, but we weren't at the party. When we came back to his house, the police had already been called."

"And we had no idea while we were trick-or-treating about the party," Izzy chimed in. "We just wanted to have a good time."

Maryse shook her head. "I thought I wouldn't have to tell you three this—I had hoped you would've had some common sense: Magnus Bane is a bad influence. He doesn't get good grades, he sleeps around with every girl and boy at the school. He's completely uncontrollable."

Alec gaped at his mother and almost didn't hear his father telling him to shut his mouth. 

"What are you talking about?" Jace asked, sounding surprised. "Magnus gets really good grades; he's helped me with Latin numerous times. And he doesn't sleep around with everyone at school. Actually, he doesn't really seem like the type of a person who'd go for one night stands. Not that you'd know, because you haven't taken the chance to get to know him."

There was silence for a few moments, the only sound in the room coming from the clock on the mantel. Alec shared a glance with Izzy and Jace, and noticed that while Jace looked confused, Izzy just looked pissed off. 

"If anyone's trouble here, it's a girl named Camille Belcourt," Izzy burst out, unable to take the silence anymore. " _She's_ the one who changed the address of her party to Magnus's house. _She's_ the one who forced Lydia to drink so much she freaking passed out. That girl is evil!"

Robert sighed. "Your mother and I had hoped we could do this the easy way, but I guess we can't." He took out his phone as it started to ring. "You're forbidden from hanging out with Magnus Bane." He left the room, already barking orders at someone on the other end of the phone. 

All three Lightwoods opened their mouths in protest, but Maryse nipped it in the bud. 

"If I hear any complaining, Jace, you will not be playing basketball for the rest of the season, Isabelle, you will stay after school as long and as much as you need to until you bring your grades up, and Alexander, you will be in charge of _every single action_  your siblings take." Maryse stood up and followed her husband out of the room. 

"This is so unfair!" Izzy whispered furiously. "None of this is Magnus's fault. He's completely innocent."

"Nothing can stop us from hanging out with each other at school, at least," Alec said, trying to look on the bright side. "And that's what we usually do anyway. Let's just go with it; I really don't want to be in charge of your every move."

"You think I want to stay after school and get tutored in every single effing subject besides Spanish?" Izzy complained. 

"Oh, boo-hoo, schoolwork," Jace mocked, pretending that he was crying. "Meanwhile, basketball is on the line. The first game is tomorrow; I can't be benched before the first game's even played!"

"Do I hear complaining?" Maryse asked, walking back into the living room and picking up her phone resting on the coffee table. While some parents may have said that in a teasing tone, Maryse said it point-blank, interrogation style. 

"No," all three Lightwoods said together. Jace gave Maryse his best smile. 

 

 

**Magnus**

Cocking his head to the side, Magnus observed the yellowish-green stain dried into the carpet. "Do I want to know what that is?" he asked Catarina, pointing a finger at the stain.

"I don't even know what that is," she admitted, wrinkling her nose. She sighed heavily. "I'll get some vinegar."

In his pocket, Magnus's phone buzzed. He took it out and saw a text message from Alec checking to see if he was still going to the game. He replied with a thumbs-up emoji and grinned when Alec sent a beaming emoji back. 

"What's got you looking like the Cheshire Cat?" Catarina asked, walking back into the living room. 

Magnus froze when he realized he had forgotten to tell her about his plans tonight. 

"What just happened?" she asked, sounding concerned. She kneeled down and began spraying the vinegar on the stain. "You were like the Cheshire Cat one second and now you're like a deer caught in the headlights."

"Um... I forgot to tell you about a basketball game tonight at Idris. It's the first game of the season, and Alec, Izzy, and I were gonna go cheer Jace on. But I don't have to go," Magnus added quickly. "I know I haven't really helped a whole lot to clean the house..." He looked around and realized just how little he had done to restore the house to its grandeur. 

He watched Catarina nervously as she continued to scrub at the mysterious stain. "How serious is this thing with Alec Lightwood?" she asked. 

"Uh... like a moderate seriousness?" Magnus responded. "Why?"

Catarina scrubbed the stain some more, then stopped and flashed Magnus a smile. "I'll make you a deal: If I let you go to the basketball game with the Lightwoods, you tell Alec how you feel, and for the love of God, you two start dating."

Magnus's mouth dropped. "You're going to let me go if Alec and I start dating by the end of tonight?"

"Yes, thank you for recapping everything I just said," Catarina replied sarcastically. She stood up from scrubbing the stain, which had already faded. She crossed her arms. "Well? You gonna go or not?"

A slow smile spread across Magnus's face as he nodded his agreement. 

 

***

 

He could hear the excited cheers and yells from the gymnasium the instant he walked through the doors. Even though he wasn't a sports fanatic like the majority of people at Idris High, he could feel his heart beat wildly with the excitement and nervousness of the first game of the season. It was palpable.

He walked through the gym doors and spotted Jace and the rest of his teammates practicing shooting and layups. Jace's ball swished smoothly through the net, and he caught Magnus's eye. 

 _Good luck,_  Magnus mouthed, giving him a thumbs-up. Jace nodded and began dribbling back towards the end of the line. 

As he was scanning the bleachers for the Lightwoods, he spotted a certain blonde cheerleader strutting up to him. He quickly turned the other way and ran up the bleachers, mumbling sorry every time he stepped on someone's foot. 

"Magnus! Magnus! _Magnus!_ " He heard someone shout. He turned and saw Izzy waving wildly. In her other hand, she was holding a bucket of popcorn from the concessions stand.

"Hey," Magnus greeted, sidling through the crowd and sitting down next to Alec. 

"Hey," Alec said back. Magnus sensed he wanted to say something. 

"The team looks good," he commented, trying to get rid of the sudden awkwardness of the situation. 

"We should just tell him," Izzy said to Alec. Magnus frowned. 

"Tell me what?" 

Alec sighed and shoved a fistful of popcorn in his mouth. Magnus waited as patiently as he could until Alec finally swallowed the mouthful and wiped his hands on his jeans. 

"Okay, if you're not going to say anything..." Izzy began. 

"Fine!" Alec threw his hands up, narrowly missing whacking someone in the head. "Our parents found out about the party at your house, and they forbade us from hanging out with you anymore."

Magnus didn't know what to say. 

"Don't worry," Izzy chimed in. "We're prone to disobeying our parents on a regular basis."

"Well..." Magnus trailed off, not knowing what he was going to say. 

The referee blew a loud whistle as he stood in the middle of the court with the ball in his hand. He threw the ball up in the air, and Jace caught it. Magnus watched as he dribbled down the court and shot a three-pointer. Glancing towards the sidelines, he spotted Clary beaming proudly at Jace. 

"It's kind of sickening how in love they are," Alec leaned over and muttered to Magnus. 

"I think it's cute," Magnus countered, letting the romantic in him shine through. 

While watching the game, Magnus felt Alec's hand brush against his. He looked out of his peripheral vision and noticed just how close their hands were. 

Taking a deep breath and gathering every ounce of courage he had, he closed the distance, and their fingers interlocked. 

He heard Alec inhale sharply and barely concealed a smile. They held hands for the rest of the first half. 

 

 

**Alec**

Magnus's hands were warm and gentle and soft, and Alec found he wanted to hold hands with Magnus for as long as possible. Suddenly, worried if his hands were slick with sweat and whether or not that would cause Magnus to pull away, Alec pulled away first and wiped his palm on his jeans.

"Is everything okay?" Magnus asked, glancing over at Alec. 

"Yeah. I just, um, wanted more popcorn," Alec lied, too embarrassed to tell Magnus the real reason why he pulled away. He desperately hoped Magnus didn't point out the fact that Alec's other hand was free. 

"Move over, lovebirds," Izzy said, standing up. "It seems I've had a little too much soda, and I am in desperate need of a toilet." 

As she scooted past Alec, she gave him a subtle wink. Now that Alec thought about it, he didn't remember seeing Izzy having anything to drink. Not even water. 

"The game's going well," Alec said lamely, gesturing to the scoreboard. Idris was winning 32-28. 

"Yeah," Magnus agreed, nodding. 

Shifting in his seat, Alec didn't know what else to say until Magnus stood up and held out his hand for Alec to take. 

"Can we go somewhere a little more private?" Magnus asked. "We need to talk."

Heart thudding, Alec excepted Magnus's outstretched hand silently and followed him down the bleachers and out into the hall. Magnus expertly maneuvered around people, and Alec simply followed. He let out a short laugh when he saw where Magnus had led him. 

"This janitor's closet again," Alec sighed, shaking his head. "So many memories."

"Good ones, I hope," Magnus joked. 

"Yeah, actually. They are." Alec noticed the way Magnus stepped closer to him. He noticed how much he didn't mind it at all. 

"So... what did you want to talk about?" Alec asked nervously. Had he done something to make Magnus upset? Maybe Magnus regretted their kiss in the courtyard. Alec hoped he didn't—he himself certainly did not regret it. 

Magnus seemed to hesitate for a moment, then stepped even closer. "I want you to know that this is completely up to you, and it's 100% okay if you say no."

Was Magnus going to ask—? No. No, he couldn't be. Alec shook the silly thought from his mind. 

"I really like you, Alexander," Magnus continued, his voice soft and gentle and low. "I _really_ like you. I like seeing you interact with your siblings—how you tease them constantly, yet still care so deeply for them. I like the way your beautiful blue eyes light up when you become passionate about something. Especially Latin. I like the way you stand; respectful and calm. A quiet sort of bravery and defiance. I like the way you wring your hands together when you're mentally preparing yourself to do something. I like the way you have incurable bedhead, and the way you don't give a damn about fashion. I like you, Alexander."

Alec gave Magnus a wobbly smile. His eyes were suddenly filled to the brim with tears. 

"I like you too, Magnus," he admitted. He could hear Magnus's breath of relief. "I like the way you dress. I like how you don't care if people whisper behind your back about your makeup. I like how you're so open with people—I don't know if I'll ever be able to be that open with people. I like how you walk; you're like one of those really judgmental cats that sit on sofas and look down at humans. That's a compliment, by the way. I liked when we kissed in the courtyard after I came out to everyone." Alec stopped, afraid he was going to get carried away. 

"I wanna date you," Magnus said.

"Do you wanna go out sometime?" Alec asked at the sam time. They both started laughing. 

"Is that a yes?" Magnus joked, and Alec rolled his eyes. 

"Obviously," he answered. 

They leaned in simultaneously and they met in the middle. Alec could feel Magnus smiling as they kissed. Electricity soared through his body, and he thought his heart couldn't beat any faster. They broke apart, breathing heavily. 

"Was that okay?" Alec asked. He'd asked Magnus after their first kiss if it was good, and Magnus's response had been more than enthusiastic. Still, Alec didn't believe Magnus. 

"More than okay," Magnus responded. "And you'll hopefully get lots of practice," he added. 

Alec blushed as a faint whistle blared in the distance, signaling the end of halftime. 

"We should probably get back," Magnus said, and Alec reluctantly nodded. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Early Thanksgiving! I don't know if I'll be able to post next Saturday, because I'll be at my grandmother's house. So if I don't post next week, I'll post the following week after that.


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

**Chapter Twenty-One**

 

 

 

**Magnus:** _Hey, guys... Alec & I have some exiting news..._

**Jace:** _What is "exiting" news?_

**Magnus:**   _*exciting.* Shut up, blondie._

**Clary:** _Tellustellustellustellustellus!!!_

**Magnus:** _Alec, do you wanna do the honors, or should I?_

**Alec:** _You can._  

**Magnus:** _Are you sure?_

**Alec:**   _I mean, if you don't want to, I'm willing to, but..._

**Izzy:** _For the love of God, tell us already!_

**Alec:** _Magnus & I are dating._

**Izzy:**   _AHHHHHHHH!!!!_

 **Alec:**   _I want it on the record that Izzy screamed in her room as she wrote the scream. Good thing Mom & Dad aren't home._

**Jace:** _Congrats you two._

**Simon:**   _Yessss! Go gay dudes! Sorry, is that offensive?_

 **Clary:**   _I'm just gonna say it: FINALLY. I ship it._

**Alec:** _You..."ship"...it?_

**Izzy:** _I ship it, too. Oh my god. Their ship name can be Malec!_  

**Jace:** _I'm so confused. You know that a ship is like a big boat, right?_

**Simon:** _Actually, a boat is a small to mid-sized vessel, which has much less cargo carrying capability, as opposed to ships, which are specifically designed to carry cargo, passengers or boats. It's a very important difference._  

 **Clary:** _I'm not talking about an actual ship, guys!_  

**Simon:** _Why not? I find ships fascinating._

**Izzy:**   _This kind of ship is short for relationship, you idiots. You get it, right, Magnus?_  

 **Magnus:**  :D

 **Izzy:** _Hang on. You two aren't going to become ond of those couples who tells people '_ We _don't like spinach' or '_ We _prefer a cozy evening in' are you?_

 **Magnus:**   _I rather like spinach._

**Jace:** _You like spinach?_

**Alec:** _Can we please forget about the spinach?_  

**Jace:** _You know I don't trust people who like spinach, Alec._

**Magnus:** _Ok, I'm leaving. I am not about to be ridiculed for my love of spinach._  

_ Magnus Bane has left the group chat. _

**Alec:** _Thanks, guys. You made my boyfriend leave. My boyfriend!_

_ Alec Lightwood has left the group chat. _

> ***

**Alec:**   _Hey, my boyfriend._  

 **Magnus:**   _Hey. My boyfriend._

**Alec:** _I don't really know what the next step is._

**Magnus:** _Well... a date is probably a good thing to do next._

**Alec:** _A date. Ok. Is tonight good for you?_

**Magnus:** _Every night is good for you, Alexander. I already regret typing that. Plz forget I ever said that._  

**Alec:** _No, I like it. It made me laugh. So... what do you want to do at our date?_

**Magnus:** _It's a surprise. Just come to my house at 6._

**Alec:** _Ok. I'm looking forward to it._

**Magnus:** _Me too._

 

 

**Alec**

"I knew I was gonna regret this," Alec sighed. He stood in the middle of his sister's room, staring at the outfit she had put him in.

"Maybe the hat is a little too much," Izzy reluctantly agreed, plucking the sparkly black fedora off her brother's head and throwing it to the side. 

"And the scarf," said Jace, leaning on the doorframe, arms crossed. "Alec, why don't you just wear that outfit Magnus picked out for you when you two went shopping?"

Izzy and Alec stared at him. "What?" Jace asked defensively. "Did you two honestly not think of that?"

"For once, Jace has a good idea," Izzy teased as Alec dug through his clothes to find the outfit Jace was talking about. 

"It happens," Jace said amicably, sitting down on the bed next to Izzy. 

Holding up the outfit in front of him the way his sister had taught him, Alec observed himself in the mirror. Izzy sighed admirably. 

"Magnus really does have good fashion sense," she sighed. "Maybe we should all go shopping together sometime."

"No!" Alec and Jace said simultaneously, wearing equal expressions of horror on their faces. 

Shrugging, Izzy leaned back against the pillow and waved her hand at her brother. "Go put that on, Alec. Then we can discuss shopping."

Alec groaned. 

***

"Hey, Dad," Alec said cautiously, walking slowly into the living room. His father was typing away furiously on his computer, squinting at the bright screen. He didn't even look up, so Alec tried again. "Dad. Hey."

Glancing up, Robert blinked at his son and watched him expectantly to keep talking. 

"I'm going out to study at the library, is that okay?" Alec continued. "I'll be back by ten at the latest."

Still without saying a word, Robert finished typing up whatever it was—Alec figured it was an email for an unfortunate intern that messed up and was about to face his father's wrath—then set the computer to the side and crossed his arms. 

"Is that a yes, or...?" Alec drifted off. 

"Come here, Alexander," Robert beckoned, using his index finger. Alec slowly moved to stand in front of his father. 

"Is something wrong?"

Shifting slightly where he sat, Robert started talking. "Do you know who Jia Penhallow is?"

Alec searched his memory for any mention of that name, but he couldn't find any. He shook his head no. 

"She's the director of the school board," Robert explained. "Her daughter, Aline Penhallow, goes to Idris High; I believe she's in the same grade as Isabelle."

"Okay...?" Alec failed to see why his father was telling him about the Penhallows now. 

"Jia told me that Aline saw you and that Bane boy at the basketball game last night." Robert stared calmly at his son. "Is this true?"

Stunned, Alec asked, "Are you spying on me?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Believe it or not, Alexander, I have much more important things to do than have people spy on my children." 

"Sorry," mumbled Alec. _Am I in trouble now?_  he wondered. 

"You know, Aline is a very pretty girl, Alexander," Robert said, his voice taking on a peculiar tone. "Don't you think?"

Alec shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." He looked at his watch. 5:45. If he didn't get going, he'd be late for the date. "May I leave now?" he asked. 

"Wait. If I catch wind of you and Bane together any more, I'll take your phone away, and I'll put you on house arrest. You'll be allowed to go to school and back, and if you need to study with someone, they can come over to the house. Do you understand?"

Alec nodded meekly. 

 

 

**Magnus**

"Do you think sprinkling rose petals on the floor would be too much?" Magnus asked, looking around the dining room thoughtfully.

"Maybe just a little," said Catarina. She looked pointedly at the vase of flowers on the table and the boutonnière of a red rose pinned to Magnus's lapel. 

Magnus's cheeks warmed as he adjusted his boutonnière for the fourteenth time in the mirror. He knew that boutonnières were a little old-fashioned, but he desperately wanted to look good for Alec. This was going to be their first official date, and he was determined to make everything go perfectly. 

He glanced over at the clock and almost yelped when he saw the time. 5:58. Alexander would be here any second. 

Catarina noticed the anxious look in his eyes. "Okay, deep breaths. Good. You'll be fine. You can cut up some bread to go with the pasta if you want—or not, if it's too stressful," she hastened to add. "Drinks are in the fridge, and he should be any moment, so I'll make myself scarce."

Almost as if on cue, Magnus heard a car pull up in the driveway. Catarina gave him a thumbs-up and quickly walked out of the room and upstairs. 

Magnus took a deep breath and forced himself to count to fifteen before preparing his charming, award-winning smile and opened the door. 

"Hey," Alec greeted, flashing him a cautious smile. One side of his mouth was raised higher than the other in a way that let Magnus know Alexander was excited for their date, yet nervous at the same time. Magnus felt the exact same way. 

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Magnus took in Alec. His midnight black hair was considerably flatter and more contained than all the other times he'd seen it—Alexander must've desperately tried to tame it. His cheeks were flushed slightly, almost as if he'd hurried to get here, and now that Magnus thought about it, he did sound a little winded. The thing that excited Magnus was the outfit Alec was wearing. He recognized it immediately as the outfit he'd picked out when they went shopping together. "Come in."

"You look good, too," Alec complimented as he stepped over the threshold. "Better than good, really. Great. Fantastic. Beautiful. Sorry." He ran a hand across the nape of his neck in embarrassment. 

Magnus gently closed the door behind him. "Don't apologize for complimenting someone, Alexander."

"Right. Sorry." He blushed. "I just... I feel underdressed. I mean, you're wearing a boutonnière." Alec gestured helplessly at Magnus's lapel. 

Clearing his throat self-consciously, Magnus adjusted his boutonnière and led Alec into the living room. "To be honest, I feel _over_ dressed. I tried really hard to look good for you. Plus, putting together that outfit was one of my proudest fashion moments. It looks stunning on you."

Magnus wished he could've taken a picture to capture the light pink blush on Alec's cheeks, even though he knew a photograph wouldn't have done it justice.

 

 

**Alec**

Alec couldn't eat. The pasta was good, there was no denying that. However, his stomach was too twisted up with nerves to make it past his fifth bite despite the fact he usually went back for seconds and sometimes even thirds.

Halfway through the dinner, Magnus broke the awkward silence. "Is everything alright, Alexander? You seem really on edge."

The butterflies in his stomach doubled in size, and Alec noticed his hand was sweating slightly. He discreetly wiped his hands on a napkin and answered, "I told you. I'm just nervous." 

It was the truth—but maybe not the whole truth. Yes, Alec was definitely nervous for his first ever date, but the conversation with his father beforehand really got to him. It shook him to his very core. 

"It's more than that," Magnus stated. It wasn't a question. Alec dared to sneak a quick look at Magnus from across the table and saw a kind smile and gentle eyes waiting patiently for Alec to confirm or deny his statement. 

Figuring it wouldn't be the best way to start out a relationship on a lie, Alec nodded slowly. "You're right. You're always right. There is more on my mind tonight."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Alexander," Magnus said. 

"I know." Alec knew that Magnus would never _really_ pressure him into something he didn't want to do. He'd just gently bring the idea to Alec's attention and let Alec figure out what he wanted to do with that information. 

Alec realized he'd been lost in his thought and that several minutes had ticked by. He gathered up all his courage, ignoring the butterflies in his stomach, and told Magnus about Aline and her mother and how Robert had found out he and Magnus had been around each other at the game. 

"We have to be more careful," Alec finished, eyes trained on the plate. "We can't let anyone see us in public together again. We have to keep this relationship a secret." As Alec said those words, he felt a familiar insecure voice in his head telling him, _Magnus won't want to keep the relationship a secret. He'll break up with you right here and now—he'll just say it in a tone that suggests he'll "think about it," and then he'll send you a text tomorrow about how "it's not going to work out."_

The silence was agonizing as Alec waited for Magnus's reply. Finally, Magnus nodded and said, "Okay."

Alec let out a breath of relief, realizing he'd been holding his breath the entire time. "Really? You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"I thought that maybe you'd think I was ashamed of you, or something."

Magnus gently placed a hand on top of Alec's sweaty one. "It's okay, Alexander. No one will know until you're ready."

Alec gave Magnus a shy smile, but he couldn't help thinking to himself, _I might never be ready._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope it was worth the wait!


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

 

 

 

 

**Alec**

Alec was surprised to find that dating life wasn't that much different from being single. He and Magnus talked whenever they could at school, and they texted every night in the evenings, but other than that, Alec didn't notice a significant change. Maybe it was because he and Magnus were trying to keep a low profile at school—anyway, Alec still felt his heart speed up just a little when he thought, _Magnus, my boyfriend,_ to himself.

Before he knew it, Thanksgiving came and went. Magnus had told him that he didn't usually celebrate Thanksgiving, but that this year, he was going to spend it with Catarina and Madzie. Alec had desperately wanted to invite Magnus over to spend it with him and his family, but he knew that that wasn't possible. 

A change Alec _had_ noticed was that the table Camille sat at seemed to have significantly more available seats than it had at the beginning of the year. Once Lydia had returned to school, she'd taken Alec up on his offer to sit with him and his siblings at the table; soon after, Clary had made the move between tables, and so had Raphael. All of a sudden, it had gone from just Alec, his siblings, and Magnus to Alec, his siblings, Magnus, Clary, Lydia, and Raphael. Camille was not happy about it, which made Alec happy. 

When the first snowfall came in the middle of December, all seven of them, including Simon, gathered outside Magnus's house and had a massive snowball fight that lasted for at least three hours. They were all numb from the cold when they traipsed back into the house, but Catarina greeted them with some warm hot chocolate, and soon enough, they regained enough feeling in their limbs to go back outside. This time, it was a snowman-building competition: Team Malec against Team Sexy (which was Jace and Izzy) against Team Climon (Simon had called Clary as his partner before Jace could) against Team Branwell and Santiago (they couldn't figure out a good team name). 

Afterwards, they dragged poor Catarina out of the warm house into the freezing cold to judge which team's snowman was the best. After much consideration (and some attempted bribing), she chose Team Climon's snowman, which made a vein in Jace's head pop out in a way Alec had never seen before. 

Jace started the second snowball fight by chucking a large clump of snow at Simon, thus declaring war. 

Alec had never been happier. 

 

 

**Magnus**

He couldn't remember a time when he'd grinned so hard and so much for so long. For the first time since his mother had passed away, they lit a fire in the fireplace and drank hot chocolate as they warmed up from playing outside.

"I'm going to need ice for my cheek," Simon complained, gently caressing his flushed cheek with his palm. 

"Ironic, isn't it?" Magnus mused. "Ice caused Sylvester pain in the first place, but it's also ice that could give him comfort."

"Sylvester?" Izzy wrinkled her nose. 

"I don't mind it," Simon said. "I'll just be like Sylvester Stallone."

They all shared blank looks at each other. Simon sighed and began explaining who Sylvester Stallone was. (Despite Magnus's attempts to tune him out, he learned that Sylvester's full name was Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone and was an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer. An impressive résumé, Magnus had to do admit.)

He glanced over at Alec— _my boyfriend._ He couldn't help the broad grin that stretched across his lips at the thought. The shadow of the flickering flames danced across Alexander's cheek, giving his face a warm, healthy glow. His cheeks were still flushed light pink from the cold, and he was wearing a sweater—not one of his ratty ones, thank goodness—that was too big on him. He had pulled the sleeves over his hands and was gently blowing on his hot chocolate in an attempt to cool it down enough so he could drink it.

Alexander turned and caught him staring, and Magnus's breath was taken away when he saw his boyfriend's intense blue eyes shining with laughter and pure happiness. Magnus shivered, which had nothing to do with the cold outside. It was like Alec's eyes were piercing straight through him. 

Magnus had never been happier.

 

 

**Alec**

It was Christmas Eve when Alec realized he should probably get Magnus a present. As expected, this sent him in such a state of panic that he fled immediately to Izzy's room to find her giggling at something on her phone.

"What?" she asked somewhat irritably when she noticed her brother standing in the doorway. 

"I need help figuring out what to get Magnus for Christmas," Alec said, too anxious to wonder what Izzy was doing. "Or whether I should get him anything at all."

She sighed, snuck one last glance at her phone, and turned it off. She patted a space on her bed for Alec to sit, which he did so obligingly.

"You should definitely get him a present," she said knowledgeably. "Just think about what he likes."

"But I bet everyone gets him clothes and makeup as presents," Alec complained. "I don't want to get him something that everyone gets him."

Izzy let out a dramatic sigh and leaned back. "Why do you always have to make things complicated for yourself?" 

"I'm going to assume that's rhetorical."

"I hear complaining," Jace said, peeking his head through the doorway. "Is Alec making things complicated for himself again?"

"Wow. How'd you guess?" Izzy asked sarcastically. Alec ignored her triumphant look. 

"What now?" Jace asked, fully stepping into the room. He sank down into a dark purple beanbag chair and rested his head against his clasped hands. 

"Alec wants to get Magnus a present for Christmas," Izzy said, "but he doesn't want to get him clothes or makeup, because everyone gets him clothes and makeup."

At that, Jace jumped up. Alec looked at his brother, startled. "I'm having the same issue!" Jace explained. "I want to get Clary something for Christmas, but I feel like she already has a bunch of paints and drawing pads."

"Who knew getting gifts was so complicated?" Alec moaned, dropping his face into his palm. 

Izzy bit her lip nervously. "Should I get Simon something for Christmas?"

Jace and Alec looked at her, confused. "Why would you get that nerd a present?" Jace asked, frowning. "He probably already has all the Star Wars action figures ever made."

Alec observed the way Izzy blushed and lowered her gaze to the phone resting innocently by her leg. He remembered how she was giggling at something on the screen. "Izzy," he began slowly, "what were you smiling at on your phone when I walked in?"

Izzy's blush deepened. 

"Were you texting Simon?" Alec asked bluntly, and Izzy shrugged her shoulders that Alec knew meant, _Yeah, I was._

Alec sent his sister a teasing grin, and she shoved him gently. "We're not talking about Simon, we're talking about you two trying to find gifts for your partners."

Jace shook his head. "I can't believe you're dating that nerd. I thought you were better than this."

 _"Moving on,"_  Izzy said in a loud voice. "Is Magnus into any books or movies, Alec?"

Alec pursed his lips in thought. "He likes to watch _Say Yes to the Dress_  and _RuPaul's_ _Drag_ _Race_." 

"A cat!" Jace yelled, and Alec and Izzy jumped. 

"What do cats have to do with anything?" Izzy asked. 

"A cat!" Alec yelled back, realization dawning on him. "That's genius!" He remembered one late night of texting he and Magnus had together—Alec had told him that he'd never had any pets before, and how he wanted one; in return, Magnus had told him about an old cat he used to have and how fond he was of the creatures. 

"I know," Jace said, shrugging his shoulders with mock modesty. 

"I'm so confused," Izzy piped up. "Someone please explain what you're talking about."

"Magnus adores cats," Alec explained. "He used to have one when he was little." Alec pulled his siblings into a hug, ignoring Jace's groans of protest. 

"What would you do without us?" Izzy looked up at her older brother and beamed. 

"I'd have a lot less stress in my life," Alec quipped and laughed at their expressions. "I gotta go. Tell Mom and Dad I'm at a study group meeting, or something."

He was out the door before his siblings could say a word. 

 

 

**Magnus**

"Get matching sweaters for the two of you," Catarina suggested, adding more logs to the fire. They'd started lighting the fire every night and eating dinner together, enjoying the warmth.

"Look, Magnus!" Catarina's daughter, Madzie, pointed at the Christmas tree. The lights strung around it were a golden yellow and made the star on the very top twinkle. "Pretty."

"I know," Magnus agreed. "We did a very good job decorating."

He watched as Madzie held up her stuffed animal dog to look at one of the ornaments. He couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face. 

"Isn't she adorable?" Catarina whispered, sitting down next to Magnus. 

Magnus nodded in agreement. She looked especially cute in her reindeer onesie, which had been an early present from him and Catarina. He sighed. Why was figuring out what to buy Alexander so difficult?

"Alec will love whatever you give him, Magnus," Catarina reassured him. 

"Well... he did say that he's never had a pet before..." Magnus trailed off. Maybe Alexander would be a cat person, and they could bond over their love for their feline friends. 

"Woah there." Magnus was shaken out of his thoughts by Catarina's voice. "Didn't you say his parents are incredibly strict? I doubt they'd appreciate a friend of Alec's getting him a pet. _Especially_ not from a friend who's a guy."

Magnus groaned. He hated it when Catarina brought up reasonable points like that. 

"What's wrong?" Madzie asked, crawling into the chair next to Magnus. "Why does your mouth look like this?" She mimicked Magnus's pouty lips by pulling her bottom lip forward. 

"I'm just upset that a friend's parents won't let him have a pet," Magnus explained. He was surprised when Madzie shrugged simply. 

"Just keep the pet here," she said simply. "I like pets." Magnus opened his mouth to disagree, but he found he couldn't. Why _couldn't_ he keep Alec's cat with him while Alec wasn't with him? He and Catarina shared a wide-eyed look. A big grin spread across his face as exhilaration coursed through him. 

"Madzie, you are a genius!" Magnus whooped. He picked Madzie up and swung her around joyously. "A complete and utter genius!"

Madzie giggled as Catarina turned on some Christmas music and joined Magnus and Madzie dancing together.

 

 

**Alec**

Alec knew he probably shouldn't be this happy when he learned that his parents wouldn't be home for Christmas or New Year's. He couldn't help it, though. He was more excited for this Christmas than he had been for any previous Christmas. This was his first time spending it surrounded by people, and he couldn't wait to see Magnus's face when he saw his gift.

As soon as Maryse and Robert left, there was a loud _meow_ , and the cat ran out from the bathroom. Jace followed quickly after, muttering curses under his breath. His forearms were covered in scratches, and he looked ruffled. 

"That cat is _possessed_ ," Jace hissed, running his fingers through his hair in a desperate attempt to re-coif it. 

"Or he just doesn't like you," Izzy pointed out, setting out snacks on the table. 

Jace scoffed. "That can't be it. Who can resist this?" He gestured at himself indignantly. He was wearing a Santa hat with red-and-white striped sunglasses. His sweater was green with white snowflakes that read: MERRY ELFIN' CHRISTMAS. He was wearing Christmas pants with snowmen playing basketball on them. Alec sometimes didn't know what Clary saw in him. 

The doorbell rang, and Alec rushed to answer it, forgetting to pause to make sure it didn't seem as if he was waiting for them (even though he totally was).

"Hey, Alec!" Clary greeted him cheerfully. She was so bundled up that Alec could only see her sharp green eyes and wisps of intense curly red hair. 

"Hey, Clary," Jace called from the living room. 

"Oh my goodness," Clary said. Alec could tell her mouth had dropped open. "What is he _wearing_?"

"I honestly don't know," Alec shrugged. He closed the door behind Clary, only to have the doorbell ring again. He opened it to see Simon beaming at him. 

"Alec! What up, man?" Simon held his fist out, and Alec face-palmed internally. He just shook his head and stepped aside to let Simon in. 

"Oh, Simon, you're here already," Izzy greeted, looking caught off-guard. She gave him a small smile, and Simon returned it. Alec resisted the urge to roll his eyes. What could Izzy _possibly_ see in him?

"I don't get it either," Jace murmured to Alec as he closed the door. 

*** 

Magnus was nearly fifteen minutes late when he finally arrived. Alec, who was jittery with nerves, forced himself to get up and open the door. (He couldn't get the lock open the first two times, which just made him more nervous.)

The door opened to a frazzled-looking Magnus. His face was void of his usual makeup, and a strand of black hair hung in his face. 

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Magnus rushed to say, stepping into the house and rubbing his pink hands together. "I just had some trouble with the, um... never mind. On a very related note, could I talk to you all? Minus Alec."

Alec frowned. "Why?"

"I can't tell you." 

Alec watched as Magnus walked off with his friends and siblings. He didn't know what to do while waiting for them to come back, so he picked up three cookies and began to slowly eat them. 

 

 

**Magnus**

"You got him a cat?!" Izzy hissed. They were all cramped together in Izzy's room, which was a decent size for two or three people at a time, but certainly not for five.

"Could you have said that that _any_ louder, Izzy?" Magnus hissed back. He gently cradled the animal in his arms. "Where can I hide him until it's time for presents?"

"Not in here," Izzy said immediately. "I don't want him scratching up my stuff."

"What about the bathroom?" Jace suggested. "That's where I hid before Maryse and Robert left."

"Why were you hiding in the bathroom?" Clary asked, brows furrowing. 

There was a soft slap that came from Izzy's hand and a soft noise of protest that came from Jace. 

"It's just a thing he does," Izzy finally answered lamely. 

"A thing you do is hide in the bathroom?" Simon asked. 

"Can we please forget about Jace's weirdness for a second, and tell me where I can put this cat?" Magnus didn't want to make Alec suspicious. 

"Bathroom," Izzy said firmly. "Maybe he and Jace will bond over hiding in there together." She sent her brother a cheeky grin. 

"Great. Now that that's decided, can we leave now?" Jace asked impatiently. "I feel like I'm suffocating."

Magnus gave him a dark look. "Now you know how Alec and I felt when you forced us into the janitor's closet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just finished QoAaD (It arrived on Tuesday), and it was so good! I still have so many questions! Definitely recommend it.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a part in this chapter at the end where things get a little... heated... with Magnus and Alec (in a good way). If that makes you uncomfortable to read, please skip it.

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

 

 

 

 

**Alec**

Despite the fact that he'd already had three cookies while waiting for Magnus and the others to come back into the living room, Alec found he rather enjoyed _Kopiko_ , which was an Indonesian candy, Magnus had brought.

As they all sat in a circle talking and laughing, Alec wished that his house had a fireplace. He loved the way the warm light from the flames turned Magnus's skin golden. 

When there was a lull in the conversation, he and Magnus made eye contact with each other. Alec grabbed his hand, and they interlaced their fingers. He hoped his hands weren't sweaty—of course the moment the thought came into his head, his hands began to sweat. 

Jace was in the middle of a story he found hilarious when Alec heard the noise. He sat up and looked back toward the bathroom. "Did you hear that?" he asked, ignoring Jace's wounded look at being interrupted. 

"What?" Magnus's voice sounded casual on the surface, but Alec could feel how his hand had tensed in his. 

"Shh. _Shh_ ," Alec insisted. Everyone fell silent, and he heard the noise again. He froze. "Is that...?"

"I didn't hear anything," Izzy said quickly. "C'mon, Jace. Continue telling your story."

"Uh..." Jace hesitated. Alec could count on one hand the number of times his younger brother had been speechless. 

Alec jumped up as he heard it again. He ignored the loud protests from the others as he ran to the bathroom and yanked open the door. A cat ran in between his legs, but not the cat he had gotten for Magnus. 

"What the hell?" Alec asked, walking back into the kitchen. He saw Magnus scoop up the cat into his arms. "Is that yours?"

"Well, I guess we're doing this now," Magnus sighed. "Alexander, I got you a cat for Christmas. You told me how you'd never had a pet before and how you wanted one, and I thought, 'Hey! Why not?'" 

Alec stared at the cat and burst out laughing. He collapsed over the arm of the sofa, tears springing to his eyes. He met Magnus's eyes and saw confusion etched in his face. He looked around at the others and noticed Jace and Izzy cackling, too. Clary and Simon looked equally as confused as Magnus. 

"Will somebody please tell me what's going on?" Magnus asked, raising his voice. 

Alec managed to stop laughing enough to open the door to the closet. There was a soft _meow_ , and another cat came running out. 

"Merry Christmas, Magnus," Alec said. "I got you a cat, too."

 

 

**Magnus**

They were all laughing, and it was glorious. He had a hand resting on his stomach, which ached from laughing so hard.

"This is like something Disney Channel barfed up," Jace choked out, letting out loud hiccups. 

"I think it's romantic," Clary countered, but she was giggling, too. 

Magnus took in a deep breath and shook his head while beaming. "Okay," he said, "what should I name him?"

"Whatever you want," Alec said, calming down as well. 

Magnus pressed his lips together and stared at the cat. He purred and meowed, and Magnus was suddenly hit with inspiration. He lifted the cat up Lion King style and announced in an important voice, "I would like you all to meet Chairman Meow, Second In Command of the Bane Residence."

They all chuckled. 

"Alec, what're you gonna name yours?" Simon asked. "May I suggest Luke Skywhiskers?"

"No!" Jace protested immediately. "Alec, if you name that innocent cat 'Luke Skywhiskers', I will have no choice but to steal him from you for his own safety."

"I'm not gonna name him Luke Skywhiskers, Jace."

Simon's face fell. "Aw, fine. What about Obi Paws Kenobi? Darth Mittens?" 

Jace clutched his head dramatically and rocked back and forth. "Please make it stop," he whined. 

"I think they're funny," Izzy defended Simon loyally. She was grinning at him affectionately. "You could also do Obi Wan Catnobi."

Simon laughed and adjusted his glasses nervously. 

"If you have a female cat, you can name her Purprincess Leia," Clary chimed in. 

"No, not you, too, Clary," Jace cried.

Alec leaned down to pick up his cat. "I'm going to name him The Great Catsby," he pronounced, naming one of his favorite books. 

Magnus watched fondly as Alec gently rubbed The Great Catsby behind the ears. 

"I hate to break up this little moment," Jace spoke up, "but Mom and Dad will  _never_ let you keep the cat here." Magnus noticed that sometime during all the explaining and laughing and naming, he had snuck his arm around Clary. Magnus made a mental note to make sure Jace knew how important Biscuit was to him, and how he had better not break her heart. 

Alec's face fell. "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that." He turned to Magnus, his expression sad. Magnus hated seeing that look on his boyfriend's face, and he quickly explained his plan to Alec—how he would keep The Great Catsby at his house, and Alec could come over and visit. 

"You make it sound like you two are divorced, and he's your child," Jace commented. 

"It was Madzie's idea," Magnus continued talking to Alec, successfully ignoring Jace. 

"Remind me to thank her the next time I see her," Alec said. He hugged The Great Catsby, who purred loudly and yawned. 

***

After Magnus and Alec gave each other their gifts, they all decided it was time to open presents. Jace gave Magnus a mug of his face on it with his name printed in bold block letters. ("To help you remember," Jace explained.) Izzy gave Magnus body glitter and a fifty dollar Visa gift card to spend on whatever he wanted. Clary had drawn a portrait of him and Alec together, sitting by the fire, which brought tears to his eyes. Simon gave Magnus Dungeons and Dragons, explaining that they all could play it together some time. (Magnus caught Jace shaking his head adamantly and was pleased to see Clary jab him sharply in the rib. He knew from experience how bony her skinny little elbows were.)

Finally, after all the gifts were exchanged, Clary began to yawn, which set off everyone else. Magnus realized how late it was getting and how sleepy he was becoming, but he didn't want to move. Alec's head was resting on his chest just below his heart, and he was absentmindedly running his fingers through Alec's hair. 

"I should probably get going," Clary said. "I bet my mom's getting kinda worried right now." She kissed Jace on the cheek and stood up, stretching. Magnus didn't miss the way Jace tried to hide the broad smile that came over him. 

"Same," Simon said. "Merry Christmas, everyone. Also, I think now would be a good time to mention I'm Jewish." 

Magnus glanced around at all the Christmas decorations—the tree in the corner, the ornaments, the reindeer on the table, and the Christmas cookies with Ho, Ho, Ho! written on them. He looked back up at Simon, who was grinning. Then he looked at Clary, who's mouth was open. 

"I thought you told them all already!" she cried. 

"Um, Happy Hanukkah," Magnus stuttered, blinking. 

Izzy stood up next to Simon. "Why didn't you tell us sooner? We could've added, like, Hanukkah decorations or something."

"No, it's fine," Simon said, waving his hand. "It just means I get more presents. Bye, everyone!" He shrugged his coat on, and he and Izzy walked to the front door. 

"You knew he was Jewish, Biscuit?" Magnus asked. 

Clary nodded. "Yeah, but I thought he'd told you all. He can be such an idiot sometimes."

"A cute idiot," Izzy corrected from the entranceway. "You know, nerd hot."

Clary made a gagging noise, which made Jace look pleased. 

"I'll drive you home, if you want," Jace offered, handing Clary's coat to her. "I know your mom dropped you off, it's not a problem."

"Oh." Clary nodded quickly. "Okay, yeah. That sounds great. Thanks, Jace." She turned to look at Alec and Magnus. "Isn't he such a gentleman?"

"Oh my god." Now it was Izzy's turn to gag as Jace held the door open for Clary. He smiled at them as he left. 

The room was quiet now, and the three of them sat in silence for a while. Magnus glanced down at Alec and saw that his blue eyes were slightly cloudy from sleepiness and drifting shut. Izzy seemed to sense that Magnus wanted some alone time, and she made some lame excuse about trying on a new outfit that Clary had gotten her. 

"This is the best Christmas I've ever had," came Alec's soft, sleepy voice. 

"Me, too," Magnus said. He looked over and saw Chairman Meow and The Great Catsby playing with each other in the corner. He gestured for Alec to look, and a small, affectionate smile came over his face. 

"I can't believe we both got each other cats," Alec chuckled lowly. The sound made Magnus shiver slightly. Alec yawned and nuzzled in closer to Magnus. 

"You can go to sleep, Alec," Magnus offered. "I won't mind."

"Are you sure?" 

But before Magnus could answer, he could hear his boyfriend's breathing change. Alec had fallen asleep. 

 

 

**Alec**

_Where_ _am_   _I?_  He was lying at an odd angle, and his head was on something cushy—was it his pillow? He blinked his eyes a couple more times and realized he was in his bedroom. Oh. But hadn't he fallen asleep on the couch? He raised his head and let out a startled sound when he saw Magnus standing in the doorway, a slow smile on his face.

"Oh my god," Alec said, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes. "I fell asleep. But I was in the living room, wasn't I? How long was I out?"

"I carried you up here a couple minutes ago. And you were out for only about half an hour." Magnus looked at the clock beside Alec's bed. "Maybe more like forty-five minutes." He sat down on the bed. 

 _"Forty-five minutes?"_ Alec yelped. "Magnus, I'm so sorry."

Magnus waved his apology away. "Don't be. I dozed on-and-off myself, actually. Besides, I like your little snores."

Alec crossed his arms. "I do not snore," he muttered grumpily. His gaze found a small wet patch on Magnus's shirt. Was that...? "Oh no," he moaned in his hands. "I drooled on you."

Magnus looked down at the stain and shrugged. "I've had worse things happen to me than drool on a shirt, Alexander. It's really not a big deal." 

Alec raised his head out of his palms and scooted closer to Magnus. They made eye contact, and the air between them grew heated. This close together, Alec could really begin to observe Magnus's face. His eyes were a deep brown, but Alec also began to see flecks of gold in them. It made it look as if they were sparkling. A strand of black hair had fallen in his eyes again, and Alec pushed it away—anything to see Magnus's unique eyes more clearly. 

"Your eyes are gorgeous," Alec whispered, reaching out to place a hand on Magnus's cheek. "I could stare at them all day."

The look in Magnus's eyes turned heated, and Alec trembled. It was all he could do to keep staring at him. 

Alec's eyes drifted from Magnus's to his lips. He pushed down the self-conscious part of him telling him to wait and see what Magnus would do and leaned forward and began to slowly kiss Magnus. His mouth was so warm; the caress of his lips just as soft as they looked. He tasted like cookies and hot chocolate and marshmallows. Alec sighed quietly. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of kissing Magnus. 

He felt Magnus take the lead, and he gladly followed. When Magnus deepened the kiss, Alec followed. When he felt Magnus taste somewhat tentatively with his tongue, Alec opened his mouth with a low moan. 

He broke the kiss, gasping for air. He looked at Magnus and realized that somehow, his hands had made their way to Magnus's hair. He quickly let go, blushing. 

"That was... um..." Magnus seemed at a loss for words, and Alec couldn't help him. 

"Yeah," Alec nodded in agreement, sitting on his hands to keep Magnus from seeing them shake. 

They looked at each other, and Alec felt himself fall into Magnus's eyes again. Once again, he crawled closer until he was almost sitting on top of Magnus. He began to kiss a trail down Magnus's skin, starting with his cheek. He kissed Magnus's Adam's apple and felt the vibrations as he moaned. 

"Alexander..." Magnus whispered, and Alec looked up. 

"Did I do something wrong?" Alec asked. He knew it. Everything was going too well. 

"No such thing. The exact opposite, in fact." Magnus shifted. "I just, uh, need to calm down, you know?"

"Oh..." Alec couldn't help but glance down at the place where Magnus's pants met. He blushed. He didn't know what to do, so he decided not to move at all. 

As he gazed at Magnus's expression—his eyes were half closed, half open with his mouth open slightly and hair tousled—Alec shifted so he was sitting on Magnus's lap and shyly pressed up against Magnus. 

The moan that escaped from Magnus's lips was exquisite, and Alec wanted to hear it again. He moved in the same way again, and another moan escaped Magnus. The third time he pressed against Magnus, he was shocked when a soft sigh came from his mouth. He paused for a moment to let the overwhelming feeling fade. 

Magnus opened his eyes. "Alexander," he said. Alec looked at him. "Don't do this just because you think I want you to do this. I want you to do this because you want to."

"I know," Alec whispered, his voice deep and gravelly. He leaned in to kiss Magnus again, cupping his face in his hands. "I do."

He pressed down again and again, his movements growing faster as the feeling in his stomach grew more intense. Alec was barely aware of his and Magnus's moans between frantic kisses, until they pulled away from each other and locked eyes as everything became white noise. 

When he came to, he realized he had slumped over on Magnus's chest and was panting heavily. They were quiet as they calmed down. _Now_ _I_ _understand_   _why_   _people make a_   _big_ _deal_ _about_ _sex,_ Alec thought to himself. 

"Well, that was unexpected," Magnus said, and Alec laughed weakly. "I'm not complaining, of course."

Alec simply nodded his agreement. He was still shaking from quivering from aftershocks. 

"Was that your first time?" Magnus asked. 

Alec nodded. 

"I hope it was okay," Magnus continued. Alec raised his head to look at Magnus. 

"It was more than okay," Alec said in a tone that suggested Magnus was silly for even thinking things like that. He gave Magnus a chaste kiss on the mouth as he regretfully rolled off Magnus and back onto the bed. 

"Hey, Alec?" Magnus said sleepily. 

"Hmm?" Alec didn't have the energy to form actual words. 

Magnus kissed Alec on the forehead and whispered, "Dibs on the shower."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? I debated on how graphic to make the last scene. Was it really cringe-worthy? I haven't write a lot of erotic scenes before, so I hope this one was bearable.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beware: cliffhanger ahead. *cue evil laugh*

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

 

 

 

**Magnus**

Magnus wondered how so many people showed up to his New Year's party. He'd only personally invited the Lightwoods, Clary, Lydia, Raphael, and Simon. Yet there was at least fifteen more people here, including a new girl that Lydia had befriended named Maia and her boyfriend, Bat. They'd had to push the furniture to the side to make room for everyone. Bat had volunteered to DJ, and he'd spent the first ten minutes of the party putting together a playlist.

"It's officially one hour 'til New Year's," Magnus announced, tucking his phone back into his pocket. "'Tis time to mingle and feast like kings!" He noticed Alec smile out of the corner of his eye as people whooped and clapped. 

"You know, people say that whoever you're standing with at midnight is who you're gonna spend the rest of the new year with," Simon said, smiling at Izzy. Jace made a gagging noise. 

"Why can't _you_ say romantic stuff like that?" Clary asked, looking up at Jace accusingly. 

Jace straightened and hugged Clary tighter to him but didn't say anything. Magnus realized that he didn't have a good comeback. It was nice to see the arrogant boy hesitate every once-in-a-while.

Of course, it also made Magnus want to shake him and make sure his intentions towards Clary were pure. 

"I'll be right back," Magnus said, squeezing Alec's hand. He maneuvered his way through the crowd and stopped in front of the blond boy. 

"I need to talk to you," he said to Jace in a low voice. He watched as Jace kissed Clary on the cheek. 

"Okay... what about?" Jace asked, following Magnus off to a secluded corner of the room. "If it's about The Great Catsby, Alec loves him. He told Izzy and me that he's planning to take plenty of selfies with him tonight."

"That's good to hear," Magnus said, and it was. But that wasn't what he wanted to discuss with Jace. 

He spun around and crossed his arms. He stared into the shorter boy's eyes. "I need to talk to you about Biscuit."

Jace's eyebrows met in the middle. "Clary? Why?"

Magnus glanced over to see his red-haired friend giggling by the cheese, cracker, and meat platter with Izzy. 

"I see how she looks at you," Magnus began. "I can tell how important you are to her, which I would say is weird since you've only been talking for, like, three and a half months, but same for Alec and me, so whatever. Anyway—"

Jace cut him off by holding up his hand. "Wait. Are you doing the same thing to me that I did to you when you and Alec became friends?" He sounded amused, and a slow smile made its way onto his face. 

"Yes. Yes, I am. And I want you to know that if you break Biscuit's heart—" Once again, Jace interrupted him. 

"If I break Clary's heart, you'll cut me up and cook me in your boiling black cauldron along with everyone else who's wronged you in the past?" Jace deadpanned. 

"Pretty much, yeah."

Jace sent him a blinding grin. "Don't worry, Magnus. I have no intention of breaking Clary's heart. I promise." He clapped Magnus on the shoulder and walked off, whistling. 

Magnus didn't know whether to be reassured or cautious. 

 

 

**Alec**

"What happened between you and Magnus?" Izzy asked, walking up to Alec. She held a piece of cheese with one hand and a cup of pink lemonade with the other.

"What do you mean?" Alec asked. 

Izzy observed him carefully. "I don't know. Something about you and Magnus is different. Like, you two are smiling at each other, and you're holding hands..."

Alec rolled his eyes. "God forbid I smile and hold hands with _my_ _boyfriend_ , Iz."

"I know what I see," she said. Alec was startled when she reached up and pulled him into a hug. "It's good to see you so happy," she continued. "I don't think I've ever seen you like this before."

Izzy's words hit something deep within Alec. She wasn't wrong—even as a kid, before he'd started questioning his sexuality, he'd never been a joyful, carefree kid. He'd always been the one his parents trusted to look after Izzy and Jace, and Max, probably, too, once he was born. After all, how many high schoolers knew how to change a diaper? How many knew how to calm a screaming toddler? (Keep calm, make eye contact, then distract.) 

But since meeting Magnus, it was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders that had been weighing him down since he was born. Alec found himself yearning to be around Magnus all the time and wished he could tell his parents how happy he was and, more importantly, _who_ was the cause of his newfound happiness. 

"I've never felt like this before," Alec admitted. He spotted Simon looking over with puppy eyes at Izzy. He nodded in his direction, and Izzy's smile grew broader. 

"What's different about him?" Alec asked. He knew his sister had dated plenty of guys before—without his parent's knowledge, of course, but he didn't understand what was special about Simon. 

Izzy shrugged, blushing. "I don't know. But he and I are going to have a _Star_ _Wars_ marathon on May 4th." She waved bye to Alec and bounced away. 

He glanced across the room to find Magnus weaving his way to where Alec was standing. 

"How many minutes 'til midnight now?" Alec asked, and Magnus took out his official countdown. 

"Forty-nine minutes and thirty-six seconds," he responded promptly. When he looked back up, Alec noticed that Magnus had practically doused himself in the body glitter Izzy had gotten him. Some of it was even his hair, which now had purple tips. 

"What?" Magnus asked when he noticed Alec observing him. 

Alec shrugged and threw an arm around Magnus. "Just reminding myself how lucky I am," he said and flashed Magnus a cheesy grin. 

"Let's dance," Magnus said, a gleam in his eye. 

"I don't know how to," Alec protested half-heartedly, and he let Magnus drag him to the living room. A bright, fast-tempo pop song was playing, and Alec watched, laughing, as Magnus began to sway back and forth. 

"Join me," Magnus insisted, holding out a hand. Rolling his eyes, Alec took it and began slowly bouncing his head to the beat. 

Right as Alec was getting lost in the rhythm and in Magnus's fast, seductive dance moves when he happened to glance up and catch a flash of blonde hair...

 

 

**Magnus**

"What's wrong?" Magnus looked at his boyfriend's expression, unable to read what it meant.

Wordlessly, Alec raised a finger and pointed at something behind Magnus. He turned and froze when he saw a familiar face walking towards them. 

"What the hell are you doing here, Camille?" Magnus asked, gritting his teeth. 

"Why so harsh, Mag?" Camille laughed a high, sharp trill that sounded like the whistles referees at Jace's basketball game blew. 

"Just go, Camille," Alec spoke up, sounding exasperated. "Shouldn't you be throwing your own New Year's party? Because you're not invited to this one."

Ignoring Camille's response—which was sure to be idiotic—Magnus scanned the crowd, searching for Lydia. He spotted her talking to Maia. 

"Go tell Lydia that Camille's here and that I'm doing my best to get rid of her," Magnus murmured into Alec's ear. "She should be fairly warned."

Alec nodded and walked away. Magnus bit back a laugh as he watched Alec bump into several people on his way—he didn't seem to have yet mastered the art of walking through a crowd. 

He slowly turned back to face Camille. He crossed his arms. "Please leave," he said plainly. _No_ _one_ _wants_ _you_ _here,_ he thought, but he held himself back. He might not want Camille here, but he wouldn't sink to her level and be mean to her. Magnus vaguely remembered his mother telling him after a particularly bad night with his father, _"Mercy is better than revenge."_  

He blinked in surprise when Camille burst into tears. She dropped her head into her palms, shoulders shaking with the force of her tears. 

"I know nobody wants me here," she sobbed, "but I was sitting in my room at home in my mansion—Mother and Father are vacationing in Las Vegas, as I'm sure you've heard—and I just felt so... lonely..." 

Magnus wasn't buying it. "Camille, I'm not gonna ask you again," he said. He walked over to the front door and held it open for her. "Please."

Immediately, the tears were gone. Camille clenched her fists and glared daggers at Magnus. She stomped out the door, and Magnus closed the door behind her. 

"Good riddance," he said out loud to himself. 

 

 

**Alec**

He was busy taking his thirty-first selfie with The Great Catsby when he noticed the time. It was almost ten minutes until midnight. He gave The Great Catsby a kiss goodbye and joined the rest of the crowd gathered in the living room. Bat was taking a break from DJ-ing, and Alec watched fondly as he and Maia giggled together by the refreshments.

"So you got rid of Camille," Alec said when he saw Magnus walk up to him. 

"Yep." Magnus sighed and rolled his eyes. "She tried, I'll give her that. She even brought out some fake tears."

"Oh boy." 

Magnus nodded. "Yeah. But I don't wanna spend the last few minutes of 2018 talking about Camille. That would _not_ be a good way to end the year."

Alec nodded, agreeing. 

"Y'all ready?" Simon yelled, his fist raised high in the air. He looked around the room eagerly to see who was joining him. 

"Never say that again!" a voice from the crowd yelled, sounding suspiciously similar to Jace's voice. 

Izzy reached up and pulled Simon's hand down and shook her head at him. 

"Our friends are insane," Alec shook his head, laughing. 

"You don't have to tell _me_!" Magnus was laughing, too. 

"Get ready!" Clary yelled, holding out her phone. 

"Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five...four...three...two...one!" 

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Simon screamed, his voice squeaking slightly. 

Alec turned and pulled Magnus into a big kiss, grinning. As they kissed, neither noticed the flash of a phone camera from the corner of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if I'll be able to post next Saturday, or not. Happy holidays, and a Happy New Year!


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

 

 

 

**Alec**

It was the day before the end of winter break when Alec realized that for the first time in his life, he was actually _excited_ for the first day back from winter break. Sure, he'd never _minded_ going back to school—and he certainly didn't moan and groan about it unlike some other people he lived with—but he'd never looked forward to it.

He was pretty sure his excitement had to do with the fact that it had been a week since he last saw Magnus and The Great Catsby, and if he was the type to post pictures on social media, he would've uploaded all thirty-one selfies. In fact, he was even considering getting social media just to post adorable cat pictures. 

With that thought in his head, he grabbed his phone off the nightstand and unlocked it. He was confused when he saw a new message from an unknown number. 

 **Unknown** **number:** _Hello, Alexander._

Alec frowned in confusion. Nobody called him "Alexander" besides his mother and Magnus. 

 **Alec:** _Who_ _is_ _this?_

 **Unknown** **number:** _That's_ _not_ _important. You_ _have_ _much_ _more_ _to_ _worry_ _about._

Alec was about to type a response when the message came through. He froze when a picture eventually popped up on the screen. Alec looked at it, and his mouth fell open. It was him... and Magnus. At Magnus's New Year's Eve party. Together. Together as in, they were full-on kissing.

The next couple minutes were all a haze—Alec barely remembered dropping his phone on the floor and stumbling backwards until he reached his bed. 

"Alec, are you okay?" he heard his sister yell faintly through the walls, and Alec managed to make himself yell, "I'm fine" back. 

His phone buzzed again, and he forced himself to pick it up and look at the text message. 

 **Unknown** **number:** _It_ _would_ _be_ _such_ _a_ _shame_ _to_ _have_ _my_ _thumb_ _slip_ _and_ _accidentally_ _post_ _this_ _picture_ _on_ _Instagram, wouldn't_ _it?_

 **Alec:** _Who the hell are you? What do you want?_  

 **Unknown** **number:** _Haven't I already told you that it doesn't matter who I am? Anyway, I want you to break up with Magnus._

 **Alec:**   _I_ _would_ _never._

 **Unknown** **number:** _Are you sure about that? I bet your parents wouldn't be too happy to hear that their oldest child likes to kiss boys._  

**Alec:** _Why do you care about Magnus and me? It's no one's business._

**Unknown** **number:** _It is my business. And I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for a friend._

 **Alec:** _What_ _friend?_

But there was no answer.

 

 

**Magnus**

"Woah," Clary said the next day when she spotted Magnus walking in the parking lot.

"Too much?" Magnus lightly patted down his hair that was doused in sparkles. He had painted his nails dark red last night, and he was pretty proud of how he looked.  He was beyond excited to see Alexander. 

"No, it looks good," Clary assured him. 

"Hey!" Jace walked up to them both, grinning stupidly at Clary. He glanced over at Magnus, and his eyes widened. "Woah."

"Where's Alec?" Magnus asked, craning his head to look back around. He smiled when he saw two familiar shapes walking up to the front door. 

"I don't want to be here," Izzy said immediately. She yawned. "Look at the bags under my eyes."

"You look fine," Jace argued, and Magnus had to admit that Izzy did look flawless (as she always did).

He turned his attention towards the young man behind her and grinned. "Why, hello, Alexander." He stepped closer to him, always careful to keep an appropriate amount of space between them just in case there were any watchful gazes from fellow students. 

Alec blinked at him for a second and nodded a quiet hello. Magnus frowned. 

"Are you okay?" Magnus asked Alec as they made their way inside the school. 

"Yeah. Just tired. Like, _really_ tired." 

Magnus glanced over at his boyfriend and noticed that, unlike Izzy and her non-existent bags, Alec's were on full display. Their sudden appearance did nothing to dispel Magnus's worry. 

 

 

**Alec**

All Alec really wanted to do was crawl back into his bed and go back to sleep, and he nearly fell asleep in Latin—that is, until Professor Starkweather surprised them all with a pop quiz, and he was certain he flunked it.

And the day just kept getting worse. 

During lunch, he made up a lie about needing to check out a book at the library, and Magnus offered to go with him, but Alec insisted that he stay and finish his lunch, and that he would be back as soon as possible. 

He was wandering around in the 400 section of the library (which covered languages and philology) when he heard his phone go off. Having a hunch about who had texted him, Alec tried desperately to resist the urge to check what the message said, but he eventually caved in. 

 **Unknown** **number:** _Well? Have you broken Magnus's heart yet?_

The words sent an awful, wrenching feeling to Alec's gut. Alec stared at the message for several minutes, mind completely blank. He didn't know what to do, and he wished he could talk to someone about it. Ironically, the person he wanted to talk to most was the person he was being blackmailed about. Life really sucked sometimes. 

**Alec:** _I need more time. Please._

It took less than thirty seconds before the next text came in. That meant whoever was texting him, either had a free period, was at lunch, or had a teacher who didn't care about the use of phones in class. 

 **Unknown** **number:** _You have until 11:59 tonight._

Alec clutched the phone until his knuckles go white. He hid himself in the bookshelves and tried to desperately hold back his tears. 

 

 

**Magnus**

"Is it just me, or is Alec acting... strange?" Magnus asked, watching Alec practically run out of the cafeteria.

"Yeah, I noticed that this morning," Jace said, surprising Magnus. He always thought of Izzy as the observant one. Jace looked around the table, sensing their surprise. "What?" he said in a defensive tone. "I'm not always a self-absorbed asshole, you know."

Izzy made a disbelieving noise with the back of her throat, and Jace threw a carrot at her. 

"Wait, how was Alec acting weird this morning?" Clary asked. 

"He was really quiet in the car this morning," Izzy said, biting into the carrot Jace had chucked at her. "And not like back-to-school quiet. More like a..." She cocked her head. "I don't know what kind of quiet it was like, actually. It was weird."

Magnus played absently with one of the rings he was wearing as he ran through all the possible reasons he could think about why Alec was acting weird. Alec had seemed fine at the New Year's Eve party, and they'd danced together and kissed and—

A thought struck Magnus. Maybe Alec felt uncomfortable about what had occurred between them after everyone had left on Christmas. Magnus had been shocked—he would've never expected Alec to make the first move. He wasn't complaining, of course, but maybe Alec was beginning to have doubts?

"I'm gonna go to the library," he said, standing up so suddenly that he startled everyone at the table. 

 

 

**Alec**

"There you are!"

Alec jolted at the familiar voice, and he wiped away his tears, tucked his phone back into his pocket, and plastered a fake smile on his face; as he turned to face Magnus, he grabbed a book off a shelf— _The_ _Everything_ _Learning_ _French_ _Book:_   _Speak, Write, and Understand Basic French in No Time!_ by Bruce Sallee—and began to casually flip through the pages.

"Magnus, hey, what're you doing here?" Alec asked.

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Is that the book you were looking for?" He turned his head to read the title. "You don't even take French."

"Well, maybe I want to start learning." Alec's voice came out more defensive than he meant, and he didn't miss the way Magnus's eyes narrowed. 

Magnus sighed. "I think we need to talk, Alexander."

"Oh?" Alec dug his fingernails into the book's hard cover. "What about?"

Magnus glanced around the library—once he was assured that nobody was close enough to them to pay any attention to what they were doing, he stepped closer to Alec and lowered his voice. "I think I know why you're acting so distant."

Alec blinked. "I really don't think you do."

"Just hear me out," Magnus said insistently. "You're having doubts about what we did in your bedroom on Christmas, right?" 

Alec opened his mouth to deny it but stopped himself. Here was Magnus, his beautiful boyfriend, desperately trying to figure out what was wrong with him, and Alec didn't want to burden him with the unknown number and threatening text messages. 

Magnus, obviously taking Alec's silence as an affirmation, grabbed Alec's hand. "You have nothing to worry about," he said in a low voice. "I wanted it just as much you did— You did want it right?"

"What? Yeah, yes, I did. I wanted it," Alec hastened to agree. It was the only true thing he'd said all day. He shivered at the memory and wished he could go back to that time when everything between him and Magnus was perfect. 

"Good." Magnus smiled and let go of Alec's hand. He glanced to the book. "Are you gonna check that out so we can go back to the cafeteria, or what?"

Alec flushed and reshelved the book. "No, I just realized it was the wrong book. Never mind." He ignored Magnus's amused expression as they walked out of the library. 

 

 

**Magnus**

"...and look at this!" Magnus was complaining to Catarina. "Look at how much homework I have! And on the first day back!" He let his head drop heavily on the kitchen counter.

"I do not envy you," Catarina said, rubbing Magnus's back comfortingly. "Well, sooner you start the sooner you'll be done, right?" 

Making his way slowly to his room, thoughts consumed by Alexander. He hadn't been acting like himself the entire day, and there was something off about their conversation in the library. And Magnus couldn't remember exactly, but hadn't Alec's eyes looked slightly red around the edges, almost as if he'd been crying? Magnus wondered if he should text Alec about it just to make sure he was really okay.

Right as he was about to text Alec, Magnus felt his phone go off in his pocket. He dumped his binders and folders onto his bed and fished out his phone. Camille's name flashed across the screen and he let it go to Voicemail. He was _definitely_ not in the mood to talk to Camille. 

He should've known better. Seconds after ignoring his phone call, Camille sent him a flurry of text messages asking him how he was and what he was doing.

Scrolling through the messages between Camille and him from a year or two ago, he rolled his eyes at the amount of shit he'd put up with for so long. When the next message came in with her complaining about how much she missed Lydia and about how unfair she was being, he deleted her from his contacts forever. 

 

 

**Alec**

He had tons of homework, and he knew he should definitely get started on math and maybe start his science hypothesis (even though it wasn't due until the end of the week), but he couldn't stop thinking about the messages. It was messing with his brain, and he only had seven hours and fifty-three minutes to decide what he was going to do about the situation before the picture of him and Magnus would be posted to Instagram.

Even running through it all in his head made him sick with fear and anxiety.

He knew he didn't want to break up with Magnus. He knew he wanted desperately to be able to hold hands and kiss him at school—like Jace and Clary had started to do—without the knowledge that everyone would be judging them both. He knew how bad it would be if the picture was released on Instagram. 

 **Unknown** **number:** _You better start making a decision about what you're going to do about Magnus, don't you think?_

Alec stared at the text. With a sense of determination, and the sensation of tears burning behind his eyes, he typed out a message and clicked send before he could stop himself. 

 **Alec:**   _I am not breaking up with Magnus._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't be able to update next Saturday, because I'm going to Florida for a vacation, and Saturday's the day I'm flying back.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been kind of a tough week for me, so I hope this is okay.

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

 

 

 

**Alec**

Alec's heart raced. He stared at the message he'd sent, wondering if he'd get a reply. He knew that breaking up with Magnus would mean breaking his own heart as well.

He forced himself to put his phone down and get out the book he was supposed to finish for English. It was only when he found himself reading the same sentence several times in a row, that he put the book down and picked up his phone to call Magnus. 

Before he could text anything, there was a loud knock at his door, and before he could say anything, his siblings burst into the room. Both their eyes were wide with panic, and they were clutching their phones so hard their knuckles were beginning to turn white. 

"Alec, hey," Izzy said in a voice that sounded extremely strained and forced. 

"Hey." The word got stuck in the back of his throat. 

"Alec..." Jace trailed off, and he and Izzy shared a look. 

"Yeah?" Alec feigned ignorance. 

"Just look," Jace said, handing Alec his phone. Izzy's eyes filled with tears. 

Alec looked at the screen and wasn't at all shocked by what he saw. It was the exact picture that the unknown number had sent him the day before. 

"Are you okay?" Izzy asked, observing her brother carefully. "You don't seem to be in hysterics or anything."

"Who posted it?" Alec asked, curious to find out who the unknown number was.

Izzy grabbed Alec's hands and seemed surprised to find that they were steady. "I don't know," she said, "it was posted anonymously."

"I have a theory," Jace said darkly. "A certain bleached-blonde, fake-nailed little bi—"

"Jace!" Izzy said sharply, shaking her head. "Now is not the time."

"Can someone take it down?" Alec asked. 

"Maybe if we bring it to the principal or somebody like that?"

Alec shook his head furiously. "No."

"Okay, okay." Jace held up his hands in surrender. "We won't tell anyone. We promise." 

Alec noticed his siblings exchanging concerned looks. He assumed it was because of his lack of reaction to the post. 

"Hey, stop crying, it's gonna be okay." Izzy rubbed her brother's back comfortingly. 

 _Crying?_  Alec wiped at his cheeks and was surprised when his hands came back damp. He shuddered and leaned back once more into his siblings' comforting arms. 

 

 

**Magnus**

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuckity, fuck!

He paced back and forth in his room, clenching and unclenching his fists. Alexander wasn't answering his texts. Magnus had hoped he'd be able to catch Alec before seeing the Instagram post, but he was obviously too late. Neither Jace or Izzy were answering his texts, either. 

"Goddamnit!" he cursed, throwing a pillow across the room. A second later, Catarina came barging into the room without knocking. 

"I'd rather you not yell expletives when Madzie is here," Catarina began to lecture, but stopped when she saw Magnus's expression. "Are you okay?" she asked. "What's going on?"

Wordlessly, Magnus handed Catarina his phone. Her hand flew to her mouth when she saw the picture. 

"Oh dear..." She wrapped Magnus in a hug, which Magnus gratefully returned. "I'm so sorry, honey. Maybe we can have it taken down."

"What's the point?" Magnus pulled away. "Six hundred and thirty-two people have already seen it, and even more have liked it and reposted it on their story. Look at the comments. Everyone knows it's Alec and me. There's no question about it."

"How is Alec handling this?"

"I don't know. He won't answer." Magnus shook his phone, as if that would make a text from Alec come in. "Fucking answer!"

"Shh." Catarina closed the door gently. "Do you know who posted the picture?"

"It has to be Camille," Magnus said. "She tried to crash my party on New Year's Eve. I thought she'd left, but she must've crept back in at some point." 

His phone buzzed, and he immediately looked at it, hoping it was a text from Alec. Instead, it was a text from Clary, asking him about the Instagram post. 

"Everything was going so well," Magnus whispered, staring at the screen, a heavy ache building in his chest. 

Alexander wasn't at school the next two days, and he didn't answer a single of Magnus's texts.

 

 

**Alec**

"I think Mom and Dad are starting to get suspicious," Jace said, standing with his arms crossed, looking down at Alec. "They keep asking me about your symptoms."

"I told you. Headache, sore throat, fever, coughing, sneezing, and snot," Alec rattled off. 

"You can't hide under there forever," Izzy cajoled. She pulled the blanket back only to have her brother's hand immediately slap hers away and pull the blanket back over him. 

"Why not?" Alec's voice was muffled from the blanket. 

"It's not healthy," Izzy said. "Magnus has been trying to get a hold of you for the past two days, and you've just been ignoring him."

"No. I can never step foot into that school ever again." Alec's heart pounded at the mere thought of walking down the halls and seeing everybody's head turn to stare and whisper loudly as he passed by. 

"Magnus sent you a picture of The Great Catsby," Izzy said, glancing over at her brother's phone. "It's really cute."

"I don't care." 

"Alec..."

"Just leave me alone. You're gonna be late for school."

"Please, Alec..."

"No."

"I'm gonna get Mom and Dad up here if you don't move..."

"Don't you dare!"

"Mom..."

"Izzy!"

"Oh, fine. At least sit up for, like, three seconds so I know you're not suffocating or something."

Alec sat up with the blanket still draped over himself, counted to three using Mississippis, and laid back down. 

"Let's just go, Iz. He can take the subway to school if he has a sudden change of heart," Jace said. 

Alec was relieved to hear footsteps fading away, and eventually, the front door slamming shut. He peeked his head out from under the blanket and took a quick look at the cat picture Magnus had sent. It was really cute, Alec had to admit, and it almost, _almost_ made him smile. 

Then he put his phone back down and scrunched himself even further into a ball, determined to sleep the day away.

 

 

**Magnus**

This was the third day that Alec had not come to school, and he still hadn't answered a single of Magnus's text messages. Really, was it that hard to pick up a phone? Magnus was considering starting a tally to mark the days he was absent.

"Magnus." 

He turned around and saw Izzy, Jace, and Clary standing behind him. "What?" he asked. It came out harsher than he meant it to sound. 

"I'm going to Iz and Jace's house to try and cheer Alec up," Clary explained, looking unfazed by Magnus's tone. "You should come."

"No," Magnus surprised himself by saying. "Alexander isn't answering any of my messages. He obviously doesn't want to see me."

"Sorry, let me rephrase that." Even though she was much shorter than him—than all of them, really—she had a fierce look on her face and her arms were crossed. "You're coming. No arguing."

"Fine." Magnus slammed his locker door shut. "But I'll argue as much as I feel is necessary."

Clary rolled her eyes and dragged him through the halls and out the door. 

***

"Alec is sick," Maryse said, when she spotted Clary and Magnus. Her eyes narrowed when her gaze landed on Magnus. "Is that the boy Robert told me about?"

"You talk about me?" Despite everything, Magnus was flattered. He heard Izzy snort behind him. 

"Go get your brother," Maryse said, looking at Izzy. "You all can stay down here and wait with me."

Izzy sent them all an apologetic look and escaped upstairs. 

"Do you have any of Alec's homework?" Maryse asked, staring daggers at Magnus. 

"Uh, no. We don't have any of the same classes in school, besides lunch, and that's not really a class..." He trailed off when he realized he had begun to ramble. _I should've brought Alec's homework,_  Magnus thought. 

Maryse made a disapproving noise with her throat, and the living room lapsed into the most uncomfortable silence Magnus had ever experienced, when he heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. 

"We're coming, don't worry," Izzy yelled down the stairs. 

"No yelling in the house," Maryse reprimanded immediately. 

Izzy leaped into the living room, and a couple seconds later, Alec joined her with noticeably less energy. Magnus felt his heart ache at how tired Alec looked. His hair was beyond bedhead, and Magnus wondered if it was lost forever. His eyes looked tired, and his clothes were wrinkly. Alec froze when he saw Magnus, and his eyes darted back and forth between Magnus and Maryse. 

"Hey," Alec said slowly. 

"Anything you need to say, you can say in front of me," Maryse said firmly, arching an eyebrow. Magnus personally disagreed, but he kept quiet. 

"Mom, could you _please_ give us a second to talk _alone_?" Jace spoke up. "This has nothing to do with you."

"Don't talk to me that way," snapped Maryse. "You wouldn't want me to tell your coach you can't play basketball anymore, would you?"

Jace pressed his lips together and didn't say another word. 

"Carry on." Maryse looked at them expectantly. 

"Maybe we'll just come back when Alec's feeling better..." Magnus trailed off, not knowing how to say what needed to be said without arousing Maryse's suspicions. 

He and Clary shared a look, and they bid good-bye quickly. 

"My mom did tell me Maryse was like a cactus," Clary told Magnus as they walked down the driveway. "With extra thorns."

"I can see that," Magnus agreed. 

 

 

**Alec**

"I don't like that boy," Maryse said, barely waiting for the door to close.

"Is it because of the glitter he was wearing or because you overheard a rumor about him and Alec together at a basketball game?" Jace asked. "They could've just been getting some food from the concessions stand or something, y'know?"

"You are walking a _very_ thin line, Jonathan." Alec noticed Jace flinch at the use of his full name. His mother almost never used Jace's full name. 

"I just want to know what that boy's intentions are," Maryse continued. "What does he want?"

"Mom, please," Izzy begged. "He's our friend, and if you ever took the time to get to know him, you'd find out that he's really nice and smart and funny."

"I will not be spoken to like this from my own children." Maryse's tone was the iciest Alec had ever heard it. "There's something about the way that boy was looking at Alec that I don't like."

Alec watched as Jace and Izzy both jumped to defend him, their voices and speech mixing together into gibberish. He rested his head against a wall and closed his eyes. He was just so _tired_. Tired of being afraid to go out in public lest someone from school spot him and talk to him about the Instagram post (which had yet to be taken down, but the damage was already done, so what did it really matter anyway?), of hiding who he truly was from the rest of the world, especially the two adults he was supposed to trust the most: his parents. 

"Stop fighting!" he spoke, his voice still rough from crying. All three of them turned to look at him. "I can't take it anymore. Mom, I need to tell you something."

"Alec, what are you doing?" Izzy asked cautiously. 

"Seriously, dude," Jace said. _"What are you doing?"_

"No. I want to do this." His voice was not nearly as confident as he wanted. 

Izzy and Jace nodded reluctantly, sharing nerves looks between each other. 

"What are you talking about, Alexander?" Maryse asked. 

"I've been struggling with this for a while now, and I need to tell you." Alec took a deep breath. "Mom..."

"What? Spit it out," Maryse snapped impatiently. 

"Let him talk," Jace responded immediately, his voice soft but stern. To nobody's surprise, Maryse opened her mouth to scold him, but Alec cut her off before she could start. 

"Mom, I'm gay. I like boys." Alec's voice shook from nerves. "And Magnus and I... we... there's this picture on Instagram going around of the two of us, and we're... you know, kissing... and that's why I haven't been going to school, and that's also why Clary and, um, Magnus came over just now..." He forced himself to shut up—he knew he would probably just make the situation worse for himself if he kept talking. 

Maryse stared at Alec like he'd just confessed to murdering someone—her lips were white and trembling, and her eyes were dark with rage. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound was coming out. Alec's heart pounded as he waited for his mom to explode. 

But the explosion never came. Instead she stormed off up to her office and slammed the door shut. Alec could hear her muffled voice and, eventually, his dad's. He winced as Izzy and Jace circled around him and brought him into a warm hug. 

 

 

**Magnus**

He was crying to Catarina in his room when his phone buzzed with a new text message.

He pulled away and his heart jumped in excitement when he saw Alec's name—and then his heart sank not even a second later as he read the message:

**Alec:** _I think we should take a break._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... the cat's out of the bag...


	27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for Professor Starkweather to be totally clueless about social media, and Camille to make an appearance.

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

 

 

 

**Magnus**

"What does 'taking a break' even _mean_?" Magnus asked, pacing back and forth in the living room. Jace, Izzy, Clary, and Simon (whom Izzy had filled in on what had happened) had all convened at his house after he'd received the message from Alec. "I mean, he's making it sound like we're not dating anymore, but is it an official breakup? 'Cause he didn't say that he thinks we should break up, he said he thinks we should 'take a break'." Magnus threw his hands up.

"I'm so sorry," Izzy whispered, her voice barely there. "Alec won't come out of his room for anything. Mom and Dad are furious at him, and they're starting to get mad at Jace and me 'cause we knew and didn't tell them, and everyone keeps DMing me about the picture."

"My mom's friend is a police officer," Clary spoke up. "His name's Luke, the one who came when the Halloween party got out of hand. I could tell him about what happened and get the post taken down."

Magnus stopped his pacing. "Really? You think?"

"I'll definitely ask," Clary said. She flashed him a smile. "And I find I can be very persuasive when I want to be."

"Thank you, Biscuit," Magnus said, and Clary waved his thanks away. 

"Will Luke also be able to find out who made the post in the first place?" Jace asked. 

Clary nodded. "It might take a little time, but the police can do anything, especially since nothing posted online never truly goes away. I can call him right now." She sprung up from her seat on the couch and began dialing Luke. 

As the others began talking more about the picture, Magnus felt his phone go off in his pocket.

 **Unknown** **number:**   _I_ _saw the picture. Is everything ok? I'm always around if you need to talk to anyone. I'm here for you. xoxo_

Even though he'd deleted her from her contacts, it was obvious who had texted him. The worst part was, if one had no knowledge beforehand about Camille, they'd think the message was a sweet, sincere offer. Magnus knew better—she was probably just trying to get the latest gossip to spread around the school. 

 **Magnus:** _As much as I appreciate the offer, I'm good. I have real friends who are helping me._  

It took less than ten seconds for Camille to respond. Magnus imagined her glued to her phone screen.

 **Unknown** **number:** _Ok babe, you can text me whenever you're ready._  

"Who is it?" Jace asked, noticing Magnus's expression. 

"She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Magnus responded, rolling his eyes. "I got rid of her from my contacts, but it seems that she still has my number."

Clary rushed back in the room. "I told Luke what happened," she said. "He said he'll take the post down as soon as he can."

 

 

**Alec**

Alec wasn't used to school being something he dreaded. He wasn't used to the stares from people in the hall or the whispers that followed him everywhere he went.

However, he did find that observing people's reactions to him could be mildly entertaining. While several people come up and congratulate him on his bravery (like they thought it had been his choice to post the picture), several more people had come up to him and say that he was going against God and Jesus and the Bible; then there were two people who told him that God would forgive all his sins and that he was in their prayers. 

As awkward as things were at school, things were equally as awkward at home—Alec wasn't sure which one was worse. Similarly, he couldn't decide which reaction from his parents was worse. While Robert gave him big lectures about _how embarrassing it is for the family_  and _don't you know about that Bane boy's reputation?_  and _I hope you understand the consequences of your actions,_ Maryse was giving him the silent treatment. Her face was cold and stony and unmoving, and she'd put her hand on her growing stomach every time she and Alec were in the same room. Logically, Alec knew that it was just a mother's instinct that made her do that, but he couldn't help but feel like Maryse was protecting baby Max from Alec like she thought he was contagious. 

One morning, a few days after the post, Professor Starkweather came up to Alec after the bell rang and sat down on his desk. "Alec," Starkweather began, his voice uncharacteristically soft and gentle, "what's wrong?"

"What?" Alec blinked in surprise. 

"You heard me." 

Alec shook his head. "Um, nothing, Professor. I'm fine."

Professor Starkweather held out a piece of paper, which Alec recognized as the pop quiz Starkweather had given them a couple days ago. 

His heart sank when he saw the grade written at the top with a bold red Sharpie: "C". A "C" would bring down his 3.5 GPA significantly. 

"You know you're the best student I've had in a long time," Starkweather said, crossing his arms. "That's why I was concerned when I saw you did so poorly on this quiz."

Alec had no excuse, and he didn't try to offer one. 

"Now, I know that I'm your teacher and that makes me officially 'uncool' with your generation," Starkweather began, "but if there's something going on at home, I'm willing to listen. Or you can talk to the guidance counselor."

"It's just... something happened online," Alec explained, trying to remain as vague as possible. "But it's okay. I'm okay."

Starkweather wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You know back when I was your age, we didn't have all this online sh— stuff," he corrected himself quickly. "We had old fashioned letters and typewriters and no one had Tweetbook or Snapgram or any of these newfangled apps you have nowadays. Life was better without technology mucking everything up." Starkweather shook his head, his rant over. 

"Yeah," Alec agreed, trying hard to keep his lips from twitching into a smile. He couldn't recall the number of times he'd thought that very same thing himself. 

"But I suppose hearing the complaints of an old man won't help," Starkweather continued, sighing. He leaned in close to Alec. "So let me give you some advice, and you can take whatever you want from that: Whatever happened online, talk it through. And I don't mean texting or distant messaging or calling; I mean you should march straight up to whoever it is that's the cause of this, and talk to them face to face."

"Thanks, professor," Alec said. 

Starkweather waved away his thanks and motioned for Alec to leave. 

As Alec packed up his bags, Starkweather's words echoed in his head. _I mean you should march straight up to whomever it is that's the cause of your bad grades, and talk to them face to face._ He couldn't help thinking, _What do you do if you're the one who's the cause of you're bad grades?_

 

 

**Magnus**

The picture was taken down at 3:34 P.M., right after Magnus got home from school. He sent a quick thanks to Clary, who told him that Luke was still working on finding out who posted the picture, and texted the news to Alec—he hoped desperately that he would reply.

He was sitting in his room, knowing he should start on his homework, when the doorbell rang. 

"It's for you!" Catarina yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

Magnus's heart leaped as he stood up from his desk. Could it be...?

Before he could take any more steps to the door, it flew open, and his hopefulness faded instantly as soon as he saw who was standing in the doorway. 

"Camille." Magnus could hear how cold and void of emotion his voice was. He could still remember a time when seeing her would leave him exhilarated and taken aback by her beauty. 

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," she said, pulling Magnus in to the most uncomfortable hug he'd ever experienced. She pulled away with a sickening look of sympathy on her face. "I can't _imagine_ what you're going through right now."

Magnus crossed his arms and pointed to the door. "Get out. Right now. I mean it."

"I'm so sorry," Catarina burst in. "I tried to stop her, but she just pushed past me."

"It's fine, Cat," Magnus said. "I'll handle it."

Her eyes darted nervously from Magnus to Camille and raised her eyebrows as if to ask, _Are_ _you_ _sure?_  Magnus nodded, and she turned and headed back down the stairs. 

Camille turned back to Magnus and opened her mouth to speak, when Magnus held up a hand and interrupted her. 

"I need to ask you something," he said, "and I need you to answer honestly."

"Anything," Camille hastened to say, a smile gracing her lips. Magnus's eyes narrowed. What was her motive for being nice to him? They hadn't shared more than a few words for months. 

"Did you take that picture of Alec and me at New Year's?" Magnus held his breath... and was shocked when Camille shook her head no. 

"I didn't post that picture," she said. 

"Oh, come on!" Magnus stood up, unable to take it. "I just need to know. I need to fix this between Alec and me. Please, just tell me the truth. _Did you take that picture?_ "

Camille shook her head adamantly. _"I did not post that picture."_  Looking at Magnus's doubtful face, she threw her arms up in the air. "What can I say to make you believe me, Magnus? Take a lie-detector test or something?" She stopped and tilted her head like she was considering something. "In fact, isn't Clary friends with a police officer?"

Magnus rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to make you take a lie-detector test, Camille." He ran his fingers through his hair, not caring if doing that made it look that much more unkempt. "If you didn't do it, then who did?"

Camille just shook her head and didn't say anything. A silence fell between the two of them, and Magnus was reminded of the horrible silence that came after he'd yelled that he wanted to break up with her. They had both stared at each other, unsure of who was going to make the next move, when Camille sneered at him, told him that he was making a mistake, and stalked out of the room. 

"Magnus," Camille said, her voice soft and silky, "I know I may be overstepping my bounds slightly, but I just need to get this off my chest." She paused, as if waiting to see if Magnus would interrupt her. When he didn't say anything, she continued. "Honestly, you deserve someone better than Alec."

Magnus snorted. "Someone better? You don't mean someone like you, do you?"

Camille ignored him. "I mean, think about it. He broke up with you after one picture got leaked online. It's like he's ashamed of people knowing that he's with you."

"He's not ashamed," Magnus jumped to Alec's defense. "He's just struggling with coming out; his parents aren't _exactly_ the most accepting and warm-hearted type."

Camille sighed. "If Alec really loves you, or even likes you the slightest bit, he shouldn't be afraid of anyone's reaction because he knows he has you to fall back on."

Magnus didn't want Camille's words to make sense, but they did. They were eating away at his defenses for Alec, and he hated that. 

To his tremendous relief, there was a knock on the door, and Catarina's head popped in the doorway. "Hey," she said, "I have to run to the grocery store to get more potatoes for dinner tonight; would you mind watching Madzie for me? I'll be half an hour at the longest."

"Sure, it's no problem," Magnus agreed. Anything to get away from Camille and besides, he was rather fond of Madzie. 

"Thanks." Once again, Catarina glanced over at Camille and only left when Magnus made a shooing motion with his hands. 

Camille wrinkled her nose. "You're babysitting your house cleaner's daughter?" she asked, obvious disgust in her voice. 

"You can leave now, Camille," Magnus said. 

"If you ever, _ever_ need to talk, I'll be ready with open ears," Camille offered. She was halfway out of the room as a loud crash from downstairs sounded throughout the house. The sound of Madzie wailing had Magnus forgetting about Camille for the moment and rushing downstairs to make sure everything was okay.

 

 

**Alec**

He knew that Professor Starkweather was right. The only way to truly resolve what had happened was to sit down and talk with Magnus face-to-face until they were talking again. But when he got home from school and saw a text from Magnus telling him that Clary had asked Luke, a police officer, to take the post down, and that it had, a wave of relief washed over him.

Still, he spent the next fifteen minutes wondering how he should respond. Should he send a simple smiling emoji or would an actual "thank you" be better? 

"Just freaking call him!" Izzy said, furiously typing up a Spanish essay that was apparently due tomorrow and worth 30% of her grade. 

"What do I say?" Alec asked, gripping his phone tightly. 

"Hey, Alec, gimme that for a sec?" Jace asked, strolling casually into Izzy's room. Alec handed him his phone and before he knew it, there was a loud buzzing, and he realized that his brother had dialed Magnus's number. 

"Jace!" Alec yelped as Jace threw the phone back to him. 

"You're welcome," he said and turned and strolled back out. 

Alec quickly took deep breaths, trying desperately to calm himself. This would be the first time hearing Magnus's voice in a couple days. Even though he knew Magnus wouldn't be able to see him, he patted down his hair and smoothed out the wrinkles in his sweatshirt. 

Finally, just as Alec was beginning to doubt himself even further, Magnus picked up. Except, it wasn't Magnus's voice on the phone. 

"Hello, Alexander," the female-sounding voice said. Alec frowned. It wasn't Clary's voice, was it? No, Clary would've just said "Hey" or "What's up?" not "Hello, Alexander." Clary never called him by his full name. 

"Hey... who is this?" Alec asked. Catarina, maybe? 

"Alec! You don't know who I am?" A loud, shrill laugh came through the phone, and Alec knew immediately that it wasn't Clary. Her laugh sounded a little more like hiccuping. 

"Is Magnus there?" Alec asked, deciding that he didn't really care who was on the phone as long as they gave it to the person he _really_ wanted to talk to. 

"Yeah, he's downstairs making sure some brat's okay," the voice responded. 

Definitely not Catarina then. Alec assumed "the brat" was Madzie, and Catarina adored her daughter. 

"Seriously, who is this?" Alec asked, his voice now more insistent. Izzy looked up from the computer and raised an eyebrow at Alec. She mouthed, _Who's_ _on_ _the_ _phone?_ to Alec, who shrugged. 

"Let's see... I'm tall, I have long blonde hair, blue eyes, most popular girl at school..."

"Camille?" Alec choked the name out, and Izzy's confused look turned sharp. "W-why do you have Magnus's phone?"

"I'm over at his house, of course," Camille said. "I'm in his bedroom."

"Why?" Alec knew about Magnus and Camille's past relationship—he trusted Magnus, he did, but he didn't trust Camille. "Can you please just give him the phone? Please?"

"Nope, sorry," Camille said. "He's spending _quality_ _time_ with that stupid little girl at the moment, and I wouldn't want to interrupt that. Besides, he's trying to heal from how you broke his heart. You calling him isn't helping anything."

"But—" Alec started to say when Izzy interrupted him. 

"Give me the phone," Izzy hissed, holding out her hand. Alec handed it over but heard the line go dead before she could say anything. 

"What the hell was that _perra_ doing over at Magnus's house?" Izzy cursed. 

Alec hesitated before speaking, not wanting his thought to become a reality. He forced himself to say, "You don't think that she's..."

"I don't think that she's _what_?" Izzy asked. 

"I don't know. Trying to, like, seduce him, or something?" Alec's face burned, and he ducked his head. 

"Even if she is, Magnus won't fall for the temptation," Izzy said firmly. "He knows what a master manipulator Camille is. Don't worry, Alec."

"Thanks," Alec said, wanting so desperately to believe Izzy's words. He turned to leave the room, then turned back and said, "Iz, I need my phone back."

She handed it over with obvious reluctance. "Tell me if Camille answers the phone again when you call Magnus," she said. "I'll handle that piece of—"

Alec slammed the door closed before he could hear the end of the sentence.

 

 

**Magnus**

Luckily, Madzie had only bumped into the coffee table and knocked over a vase of fake hydrangeas which had fallen over and shattered on the hardwood floor. But Magnus had cleaned all the shards up, and Madzie wasn't hurt, so he'd put her down on the couch with the Great Catsby lounging lazily on one side of her and Chairman Meow licking his paw equally as lazy on the other;  _Dora_ _the Explorer_ was blaring from the T.V., and she was currently deeply immersed in it.

It was only when Dora's backpack was singing its annoying (but admittedly slightly catchy) song when Magnus remembered Camille. 

He froze. Had she left already? He didn't remember seeing her leave, but he was preoccupied with a minor emergency at hand. If she hadn't left, then that meant he'd left her all by herself in his room. 

"Camille!" he yelled, bounding up the stairs. He arrived in time to see Camille walking out of the room. 

"Don't worry, I was just leaving," she said. "Just wanted to stick around and make sure the little girl didn't need an ambulance or something. I'll see you tomorrow, Magnus." 

Magnus ran into his room, quickly making sure everything was where he'd left it. He sighed in relief when everything was in the same place as before. 

In the sudden quiet (with Dora still playing in the background, of course), Magnus spotted his phone sitting innocently on his desk. He picked it up and was disappointed when he saw there was nothing from Alexander. No text or email or even a phone call. He clicked his phone off and set it down.

"Why am I not surprised?" he thought out loud. 

 


	28. Chapter Twenty-Eight

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

 

 

 

**Magnus**

When he arrived at school, he noticed immediately that Jace, Izzy, and Clary were all clustered around his locker first thing in the morning. If the situation was different, Magnus would've made a wisecrack about how the Lightwoods were on time to school for once.

He figured by the expressions on their faces that they weren't in a joking mood. He wasn't in a joking mood himself, either. 

"Good morning," Magnus muttered. He cursed under his breath when he entered his locker combination wrong. "What do you want?" His voice was bitter, and he almost didn't recognize it. 

"We need to ask you something," Izzy said. Her eyes were dark and intense. 

"Go for it," Magnus said, shrugging his backpack off his shoulders.

He noticed the three of them sharing looks with each other as if debating on who would speak first until, eventually, Izzy spoke again. 

"We know what happened yesterday afternoon," Izzy started. "We know that Camille was over at your house."

Magnus froze. "How did you know that?"

"Never mind how we know that," Jace cut in, his voice rough. "What, were the two of you hanging out together? Doesn't it seem a bit too soon after the whole thing with Alec?"

"It wasn't like that," Magnus argued. "Camille came over to my house out of the blue and practically forced herself into my room. We weren't 'hanging out'." He hesitated, then asked, "Does Alexander know about this?"

The three of them nodded.

"Please, you have to believe me." Magnus's voice took on a pleading tone. "Nothing happened. Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you," Clary spoke up, sending Magnus a small smile. "I know who you are, Magnus, and I know that after what happened with Camille, you'd never cheat on someone and cause them the same pain that she caused you."

Magnus gave her an appreciative smile back. "Thanks, biscuit," he murmured. 

He turned to the rest of the group. "Look, Camille was being strangely nice. And I asked her if she took the picture, and she said she didn't." 

"And you believe her?" Jace asked, sounding slightly incredulous. 

"You didn't see the look on her face," Magnus argued back. "You don't know Camille like I do—yes, she's deceptive and sneaky, but she won't lie about something unless it benefits her."

"Lying about this _will_ benefit her," Izzy argued. "She's like a spider that wants you back in her web." When Magnus arched an eyebrow at her analogy, she explained, "Simon was talking about spiders the other day—did you know are three main types of spider webs?"

The bell rang, cutting their conversation short. 

 

 

**Alec**

While lounging on his bed, scrolling through his old text messages between him and Magnus, Alec was reminded of how much of a loser he truly was.

He couldn't stop thinking about what Jace and Izzy had told him after they'd confronted Magnus earlier that morning. He knew how deep Magnus and Camille's relationship was once upon a time. It crushed him to know that Camille might be trying to work her seductive powers to get Magnus back in her clutches. 

He put his phone down and shut his eyes, knowing that it was highly unlikely he'd actually fall asleep—it was, after all, barely nine o'clock. 

He was actually feeling relatively calm and relaxed for the first time in days, when he felt the bed dip underneath him. His eyes shot open to see his siblings bouncing on the bed. 

"How did you get in here?" Alec asked. "I locked the door."

Wordlessly, Izzy held up a bobby pin. "Locks hold nothing over me, dear brother," she said. 

"What do you want?" Alec asked, making a mental note to look up locks that couldn't be unlocked by mere bobby pins. 

Jace grinned. "We're on a mission to get you out of your funk and back into your regular— Well, you were always in kind of a funk even before you met Magnus, so I don't really know what we're hoping to turn you back into, but it's the thought that counts, right?"

Alec shut his eyes and silently raised his middle finger up at Jace. 

"That just proves my point," Jace singsonged back. 

 _"Anyway,"_ Izzy cut in, "we're taking you out tonight."

"No," Alec responded shortly. 

"Aline Penhallow's throwing a party tonight, and she invited us," Izzy continued blithely. It was as if Alec hadn't even opened his mouth. 

Alec gave Izzy his meanest look. "You do realize that a party was what started this whole mess, don't you?" He paused. The name Aline sounded familiar. "Do I even know Aline Penhallow?"

Jace and Izzy shared a look. "She's Jia Penhallow's daughter," Jace said. 

Alec sat up. "You mean the girl who blabbed about Magnus and me to her mom? She invited you to a party she's throwing, and you two are _seriously_ planning on going?"

"Aline's really nice," Izzy said, "and she didn't know her mom would tell Dad about you and Magnus."

"Still." Alec knew it he was being unfair right now, but he couldn't bring himself to stop. Didn't his siblings understand that all he wanted to do was sit at home and feel sorry for himself?

"You can't sit at home just feeling sorry for yourself, Alec." Jace's words were eerily similar to Alec's thoughts. "It'll be fun. We'll stick by your side the entire time. Plus, I need a distraction, too."

"What do you need distraction from?" Alec asked. "How much product you put in your hair?"

"Ha. Ha," Jace said drily. "No, actually, Clary and I are kind of... well, we're not really _fighting_ , we're just..."

"Arguing?" Izzy suggested. "Aggressive? Combative?"

"When did you become such a Thesaurus?" Jace snapped back. 

"Wait, what are you and Clary fighting about?" Alec asked. 

Jace rubbed run his fingers through his hair. "She and I are arguing about Camille and Magnus," he explained. He shook his head. "I don't wanna talk about it right now." He looked at Alec and gave him sad puppy eyes. "Going to Aline's party would really help me take my mind off things, but I'd feel guilty just leaving you at home since you obviously don't feel like it..."

Alec tossed a pillow at his brother. It hit him softly in his chest and fell to the ground. "Fine!" Alec said through gritted teeth. "Let's go to the freaking party!"

He pretended not to see Izzy and Jace's triumphant looks. 

***

Alec had been at the party for barely half an hour, and he'd been aching to return home since he first arrived. He should've brought a book. Or his earbuds. Or literally anything to keep him from rocking back and forth on his feet in the corner. This wasn't his kind of music, this wasn't his kind of party, and the people he was surrounded by weren't his kind of people. 

True to their word, Jace and Izzy had stayed by his side for the first fourteen minutes, but he'd noticed their bored expressions, and he'd managed to convince them to go off and join the crowd. Alec had been able to keep them in sight until a few minutes ago. 

"Dude, you need to lighten up!" a random boy yelled in Alec's face. His hot breath smelled of some sort of alcohol. A girl who was significantly shorter than he was was hanging off his armor, flipping her hair back and forth. 

"Do I know you?" Alec asked, but the boy didn't seem to hear him—or if he did, he didn't act like it. 

Instead, a red Solo cup was forced into his hands so aggressively by the boy that some light brown liquid sloshed over the side onto Alec's already worn-down shirt. 

"Shit!" the boy cackled. He burped, and Alec got a refreshing whiff of the alcohol again. Whiskey, maybe? 

"I don't want—" Alec started to say, but the boy danced off with the girl towards the bedroom. He didn't want to think about what was about to take place between them now. 

Alec looked around for a place to set the cup down but every table was already covered in chip bags or vases of flowers or abandoned cell phones. He looked around at how carefree and happy everyone looked and before he could second-guess himself, he downed half of the cup in a large gulp. 

***

The hallway was moving. The doors looked blurry and the lights in the upstairs hallway were bright and made Alec's head ache. He giggled at how everything spun around him. It made sense, didn't it? The world was always spinning, even if no one felt it. Alec hiccuped and wondered if being drunk made you actually feel the rotation of the earth. He didn't know. 

He shook his head to erase the thought. He blinked at all the doors in the hallway. He didn't know where Jace and Izzy were, and right now, he didn't card. All he knew was that he's had three and a half cups of beer—he couldn't remember where he'd placed his cup—and his bladder was full. 

Hiccuping some more, Alec opened the door closest to him, and came upon a bedroom. Only, it wasn't empty. There were two girls sitting crisscross applesauce on the bed. They were looking at Alec with a shocked expression, and he felt like he was probably doing the same. Alec could tell that they'd been kissing before he'd walked in. 

"H-hello," Alec stuttered, giggling at the way his words were slurred. "My bad."

"Alec, hey," the girl on the left said. Alec squinted, and he realized that it was Aline Penhallow, the hostess of the party. 

"Alec," the girl, Aline, said again, getting up and moving closer to him. "Alec, you can't tell anyone about this."

"Huh?" Alec blinked stupidly. 

"I'm not out yet at school," Aline explained. "Helen is, but she's agreed to wait until I'm ready for people to know. And I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone, either."

"Who's Helen?" Alec asked. 

The other girl on the bed raised a hand and waved. "Hey, Alec," she greeted. She walked over to him and gently shut the door. "I'm Helen Blackthorn. I just moved here from Los Angeles. Nice to meet you."

Alec stared at the two of them, and he was reminded with a gut-wrenching feeling of him and Magnus. He remembered feeling Magnus's lips on his, the intoxicating way Magnus would lick his bottom lip before slipping his tongue into his mouth, the way Magnus rested one hand on Alec's cheek and the other in his hair. He remembered feeling Magnus's body heat against his, and he ached for it. 

"Alec, what's the matter?" Aline asked. "Why are you crying?"

"Magnus. I miss Magnus. I miss him so much." The words slipped out of Alec's mouth; he had no control over them. 

He saw Helen and Aline give each other a look, and Aline pulled him into a bear hug. "Alec," she whispered into his ear so softly that he was sure Helen couldn't hear. "Alec, I am so, so sorry for telling my mom about you and Magnus at the basketball game. I had no idea that she'd go and tell your dad."

"I forgive you," Alec responded, and he did. He really did. He wrapped his arms clumsily around Aline and squeezed her in. 

"Helen," Aline murmured, "find Jace and Izzy. Let them know that their brother needs them."

Helen nodded, gave Alec a sweet smile, and left the room. 

"Here, sit." Aline gently lead a sobbing Alec to the bed. "Stay right here. I'm going to go get you some water. Don't move."

 

 

**Magnus**

He was alone in his bedroom watching Netflix on his computer. He felt slightly pathetic, especially because he was just watching _The_ _Office_ over and over again, trying not to sob over how much Jim and Pam loved each other.

His eleventh episode in a row ended, and Magnus rested his head against his pillow. He remembered a time when he lived for Friday night parties. He heard about briefly about a party at Aline Penhallow's house, but he couldn't make himself go. 

Magnus's phone dinged with a text message, which he ignored. It was probably Camille, anyway. Then his phone dinged three more times, and that got his attention. Camille was not the type of person to send multiple texts. 

 **Alec:** _heyyy!! Mags, its_ _meee. Alec_

 **Alec:** _Magnus_ _the_ _world_ _is_ _spinnning_   _i have to_   _pee_

**Alec:** _mmmmaaaaggggnnnnuuuussss_

Alarm bells went off in Magnus's head as he took in the uncapitalized letters, the missing punctuation, and the missing apostrophe in "it's."

**Magnus:** _Alec, where are you? Are you okay?_

**Alec:** _mags, u answrd im good only i started crying & now aline is getting me water & helem is geting izzy and jqce i just wanna say i miss u alot_ 

Crying? Magnus leaped out of bed and slid his feet into his shoes, his fingers simultaneously tapping out a message to Alec. 

 **Magnus:** _You're drunk, aren't you? Tell me where you are._  

 **Alec:** _in_ _a_ _nedroom_

**Alec:** _oops i mean bedroon_

**Alec:** _haha i mean bedroom_

Magnus scrolled up to a previous message and saw Aline's name written. 

**Magnus:** _Are you at Aline's party?_

**Alec:** _yes & im rly drunk_

Magnus told Alec he was coming to get him, then hopped in the car and drove as fast as he could to Aline's house. He even forgot to put on a seatbelt. 

***

By the time Magnus arrived at Aline's house, the majority of people had left or passed out. Music was still blaring from the speakers, but it wasn't too crowded. It was by complete chance that Magnus met up with Izzy and Jace, who were standing by the TV. 

"Magnus?" Jace asked, sounding incredulous. Magnus caught a whiff of alcohol as he spoke, but it was faint. 

"What're you doing here?" Izzy asked. Magnus couldn't smell any alcohol on her breath at all. 

Magnus held up his phone. "Your brother drunk texted me. Look at this! Look at how terrible his spelling and punctuation is here. He's clearly messed up."

"Isabelle, Jace!" a voice came from behind Magnus. He turned to see a blonde-haired girl hurry over to the Lightwoods. "I'm Helen. Alec's upstairs, and he's really upset. Aline sent me to come get you."

Izzy and Jace darted upstairs, with Magnus on their heels. Helen was right behind them, desperately trying to keep up. 

***

"Good, you're here," Aline said when the door opened. She was bending over and handing Alec a glass of ice water, which he gulped down in 0.5 seconds. "Hey, Magnus. I didn't know you were here."

"I just got here," Magnus explained, his heart twisting at the drying tear tracks on Alec's cheek. 

Izzy and Jace rushed over to their big brother. 

"We're going home right now," Izzy said sternly, and for a split second, she sounded very much like her mother. 

Magnus stepped forward. "I can drive," he offered. 

Jace's head shot up, eyes flashing. "We don't need your help, Bane."

"Look, you've obviously had a little to drink, I can smell it on your breath," Magnus said. "You know what they told us in health: buzzed driving is drunk driving."

"Izzy hasn't had anything to drink," Jace pointed out. Magnus turned to Izzy and gave her a pleading look. 

Izzy was silent for a moment, then tossed Magnus the keys to their car, ignoring Jace's protests. She must've see how desperate Magnus is to do something for Alec.

"Thank you," Magnus said, nodding to Aline and Helen. He hoists Alec up and lets him lean almost all of his body weight on him. 

"No problem," Aline and Helen said at the same time. 

***

The drive home was tense, and everyone was beyond relieved to find that Maryse and Robert have gone to bed already. Alec passed out as Magnus was pulling up to the driveway. 

"Why don't you come inside, Magnus?" Izzy offered. Magnus expected Jace to argue, but he was too focused on making sure Alec's alright. 

"Okay," Magnus agreed. 

He walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. He could hear Jace and Izzy struggling to get Alec up the stairs. 

The sound of his phone going off freaked him out so much, that when he answered it, he hissed, "What the hell, biscuit? You scared the crap out of me."

"You're going to be thankful I called," Clary's tired-sounding voice responded. Magnus suddenly realized how late it was. 

"What's up?" Magnus asked. 

He heard Clary take a deep breath, then say, "Luke found out who posted that picture."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who knew drunk Alec can't spell the word "bedroom"?


	29. Chapter Twenty-Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THAT 3B TRAILER THOUGH, GUYS. MIND. BLOWN.

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

 

 

 

 

**Alec**

He woke up to whispered voices just outside his door.

 _What_ _happened?_ Alec wondered to himself, propping himself up on his pillow. He regretted it a second later when his head throbbed. He sank back down onto his pillow. 

"Hello?" Alec called out softly, his voice still groggy. "Izzy? Jace?"

The voices outside his door stopped, and the door opened to Izzy and Jace filing in. Behind them, was Magnus. Alec felt his cheeks burn at the disgusting condition he knew he was in. 

"Good, you're awake," Izzy said, sitting at the foot of his bed. She smiled at him. 

"How do you feel?" Jace asked. 

"Like shit," Alec cursed. "Complete and utter shit."

"Hang tight; lemme get my concoction." _Concoction?_ Jace patted Alec gently on the shoulder and left the room. Alec didn't miss the look he gave Magnus as he left the room. 

"What do you remember from last night?" Izzy asked. 

Alec squinted as he thought about what he was doing last night, but he found he could barely remember walking through the front door. "A party. It... it was at Aline's house, wasn't it?" he asked blearily. 

"That's all you remember?"

"Kinda." Alec clasped his head between his hands. "Jace better hurry up."

As if on cue, Jace appeared in the doorway, with a glass of... well... Alec didn't really know _what_ it was. 

"Here." Jace held out the glass to Alec expectantly. 

Alec stared at Jace incredulously. "What the hell is that?" He looked at Izzy, who had a sick look on her face. 

"My homemade remedy on getting over hangovers," Jace explained. "It's one teaspoon of salt and eight teaspoons of sugar into five cups of distilled water. Then I whisked in half a cup of orange juice. Drink." He forced the glass into Alec's hand. 

Magnus cleared his throat for the first time, making his presence known. "For the record, it's actually _my_ homemade recipe that I told Jace about last night."

"Wait, did you sleep over?" Alec asked. 

Magnus nodded. "I slept in Jace's room on the floor."

Despite Alec's horrible headache, he let out a sharp bark of laughter. 

"Oh, ha ha, so funny," Jace cut in. He pointed at the glass in Alec's hand. "Drink."

Alec swirled the liquid around in the glass, plugged his nose, and downed half of it in one glass. He forced himself to swallow it all down, gagging slightly. 

"How does it taste?" Izzy asked. 

"It's _ghastly_ ," Alec gasped, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He set the glass down on his nightstand. "Get that foul liquid as far away from me as possible."

Everyone chuckled softly, and the room fell silent. Alec settled back into his bed, only to tense up with realization. "Where are Mom and Dad?" he asked. "Do they know about...?"

"No, they were already asleep by the time we came home last night," Izzy reassured him. "And they've been locked up in their offices since eight this morning."

"But it's Saturday," Magnus said, looking confused. 

"That's our parents," Izzy said simply, shrugging her shoulders. "They work constantly."

Alec peered at Magnus. "How did you know I'd be hungover? Did Iz or Jace text you?"

Magnus subconsciously reached for his phone in his pocket. "No, actually, you texted me." Off Alec's confused look, he nodded to the phone lying next to him. "Look at your messages. 

Scrolling through his text messages to Alec from the previous night, Alec's face burned with embarrassment. He winced at how whiny he was and how concerned Magnus sounded. He wondered what he had ever done to deserve Magnus's... friendship? Was that all they were to each other now? Friends? He guessed he should be glad that Magnus still wanted to have anything to do with a loser like him. 

He set his phone down, unable to meet his siblings or Magnus's gaze. 

Alec did look up when he saw the three of them giving each other shifty looks. "What is it?" he asked. He groaned. "Please don't tell me I did something embarrassing at the party last night that someone got on video. I really don't think I can handle another picture on Instagram."

"No, nothing like that," Jace said. "But..." He whispered something to Izzy and Magnus. 

Alec felt his nerves rise. "Then what are you three being so secretive about?"

"For once, I agree with Jace. He deserves to know who he can trust." Magnus whispered loudly. He caught Alec's eye, and Alec had the feeling that Magnus had let him hear what they were arguing about. 

"We should wait until he's had some more rest," Izzy argued back. She gestured wildly as annoyance made her voice loud and harsh. 

"He deserves to know," Jace insisted, crossing his arms. 

"I deserve to know _what_?" Alec demanded, ignoring the way his head throbbed again. He highly doubted Jace's concoction would actually work. 

Magnus stepped forward and took Izzy's place at the foot of Alec's bed, ignoring her dirty looks. "After we drove you home, I got a call from Clary," he began slowly. Alec noticed Magnus wringing his hands together, which he found odd. Magnus always covered up his nerves with his bright personality; he never showed them like this. "She told me that Luke figured out who posted that picture on Instagram. And I told Izzy and Jace."

Alec froze, clutching the corner of the blanket. His palms were slick with sweat, and he was suddenly overcome with the urge to vomit. Which he did. All over the floor next to his bed. 

To say he was embarrassed would be the understatement of the year. 

 

 

**Magnus**

"It was Camille, wasn't it?" Alec asked, entering Izzy's bedroom. (Alec's had been figuratively roped off until further notice.) His hair was still slightly damp and wavy from his shower. He sounded better and looked better. Not that he had looked bad before—Magnus was just relieved to see that the color was back in his cheeks.

Alec shook his head and kept talking before they could say anything, pacing across the room. "I _knew_ it. I had a feeling, y'know? And of course we did kick her out of the New Year's Eve party at Magnus's, so she was mad, and then us kissing was the perfect revenge. And then she shows up randomly at your house, Magnus, and starts professing her innocence? And then she answers my phone call and tries to—"

"Wait, she answered your phone call?" Magnus interrupted, feeling his insides boil. "When was this?"

"It was downstairs when you were helping Madzie with something, I think," Alec said. He continued his rant. "That wicked, conniving, bleached-blonde—"

"Alec!" Izzy intervened, looking as if she was about to explode. "It wasn't Camille who posted the picture."

Magnus watched as Alec froze mid-pace. "W-what?" he stuttered. He looked at Magnus. 

"It was Lydia," Magnus responded, his chest heavy. "She posted the picture."

Alec shook his head.  _"Lydia?"_ His eyebrows met in the middle. "No, she didn't. She couldn't have."

Magnus nodded. "I didn't want to believe it either at first."

"But we helped her." Alec ran his fingers through his hair, looking so confused and lost. "We helped her when Camille was a bitch to her. Why would she do this?"

"Maybe Camille put her up to it or something," Izzy offered. "I'm sorry, Alec. I thought we could trust her, too."

"When Magnus told us, I was so ready to go over to her house in the wee hours of the morning and confront her about it," Jace spoke up. Magnus could see his anger in the way his muscles were tense and his jaw clenched. 

Izzy nodded. "Jace and I both wanted to run over there and make her confess, but Magnus became convinced us that you needed us." She flashed Magnus a smile, which he appreciated. 

"I wanna talk to her about it," Alec said, still looking stunned. "I... I wanna hear her side..."

"You need rest," Izzy countered, placing a hand on Alec's shoulder. "You're not prepared to confront Lydia while you're still hungover, even if you feel better." She held up a hand when Alec opened his mouth to protest. "I don't want to hear it, Alec. You can sleep in here. I'll get you a blanket."

***

Magnus was slouching on the Lightwoods' couch when his phone blared. He felt his stomach drop as Catarina's name appeared on the screen. 

"Hey, Cat," he said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. 

"Where the hell are you?" Catarina yelled. She was so loud that the static rose with her and made her voice sound spiky. 

"I'm in the Lightwoods' living room," Magnus hurried to explain before she could become even louder and angrier. "I—"

"What the hell are you doing in the Lightwoods' living room?" Catarina interrupted. 

"Alec was at a party and got drunk last night, so I drove over there and picked him up." Magnus paused to take a quick breath, half expecting her to interrupt him again. Thankfully, she didn't. "Look, Cat, I know you're mad at me, but Clary called, and I know who posted the picture of Alec and me to Instagram. And I had to tell Izzy and Jace, and—"

"Who posted it?" Catarina asked. 

"A girl named Lydia Branwell—you've never met her. But Camille still has something to do with this, I can feel it." Magnus let out a long breath. 

Catarina was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll forgive you for this, Magnus, since it sounds like Alec really needed you."

"Thanks, Cat, I—"

"I'm not done." 

"Oh."

"If you ever do this again..." Magnus waited for her harsh words, but all that came was an amused-sounding, "leave a goddamn note, alright?" The line went dead before he could say anything more.

 

 

**Alec**

Alec's siblings would not let him go anywhere other than his bedroom—an entire canister of Febreze had been used to get rid of the vomit smell—the bathroom and the kitchen until Sunday afternoon when they finally told him that they were going over to Lydia's house with Magnus and, for some reason, Simon. Clary was spending the weekend with her father but said she was sending mental support.

The car ride over was mostly silent; no one knew what to say. Even the usual cheerful and talkative Simon was quiet.

"So..." Simon started when they were a few minutes away, clearing his throat. Jace threw him a warning look. "Do we have, like, a plan or a script or something when we get to Lydia's house?"

"We won't need a script," Jace cut in bluntly. 

"Are you sure?" Simon asked. 

"Pretty sure," Jace deadpanned. 

Simon went on. "I just need to know what kind of vibe we're going for, y'know? Passive aggressive or just plain aggressive? Confrontational or pretending like we don't know what happened and make her say it for herself? 'Cause I've watched a lot of movies and—"

"Simon," Izzy interrupted, slinging an arm around his shoulders, "you know I find you adorable and sweet, so please don't take this the wrong way, but all you need to do is just stand there silently and contribute nothing to the conversation."

"Nothing?" Simon sounded disappointed. 

"You can contribute some nonverbal support," Magnus offered, sarcasm dripping from his voice. 

"It's just..." Izzy sighed. "You're not great at this kind of stuff, okay?" When Simon pouted, she kissed him on the cheek. Despite his nerves, Alec found himself shaking his head and smiling as the car erupted into a chorus of "eww's." 

"Ever heard of something called PDA, Iz?" Jace asked, pretending to gag. 

She rolled her eyes. "Must I remind you of how 'touchy-feely' you and Clary were every single time you two were together?"

At the mention of Clary's name, Jace fell silent, all traces of lightheartedness gone. Alec furrowed his brow, but Magnus had already pulled into Lydia's driveway. 

"Deep breaths everyone," Magnus said.

"Screw that, let's go." Jace hopped out of the passenger seat and slammed the car door shut. 

"Oh, sure," Magnus muttered. "Let's just jump into this headfirst, 'cause _that's_ smart."

Alec snorted, and to his surprise, Magnus looked up at him and cracked a smile back. All it took was that tiny grin that made Alec feel better. Maybe things would be okay after all. 

 

 

**Magnus**

It was blatantly obvious that Lydia was not expecting them to show up at 3:34 in the afternoon on a random Sunday in January, but she invited them in graciously anyway.

Lydia's house was immaculate and huge with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and white rugs. Everything in the house was clean and white—the rugs, the walls, the furniture, the cabinets—and it reminded Magnus of the time they went to visit Lydia in the hospital. The memory burned in the back of his throat. _How_ _could_ _she_ _do_ _this_ _to_ _us?_

"Would you like something to drink?" Lydia asked, wringing her hands nervously.

"I actually wouldn't mind a—" Simon started to say, but Jace interrupted him. 

"We're good, thanks." Jace gave Simon the "zip it" sign, and Simon mimed locking his mouth and throwing away the key. He then turned and smiled at Izzy; an involuntary smile stretched across her face.

Lydia sat down in a chair across the clear coffee table, which was completely clean of fingerprints or stains, and looked at them expectantly. They all glanced at each other, and Simon raised his eyebrows as if to say, _See? I_ _knew_ _you'd_ _need_ _a_ _script._

Magnus cleared his throat. He was the one who had called up Jace and Izzy, asking if they were ready to talk to Lydia; he figured he should also be the one to start the conversation. 

"So... um..." Magnus could count on one hand the number of times he'd been at a complete and utter loss for words. He didn't understand why he was freezing up all of a sudden. He'd been wanting to get Lydia's side of the story since finding out about her role in everything. Probably taking pity on him, Izzy jumped right in.

"We know you posted the picture of Magnus and Alec to Instagram," she said, bypassing any small talk. Magnus blinked. Well. That was one way to do it. 

Lydia's knuckles went white as she gripped the armchairs. 

"You don't have proof..." She trailed off weakly. 

"Clary's friend, Luke, is a police officer," Jace said. "We know you did it, Lydia. Stop lying."

Lydia looked at them wide-eyed, and then burst into tears. She put her face in her palm as her entire body shuddered with the force of her ragged breaths. 

Magnus and the others exchanged looks with each other, unsure of what to do. To Magnus's surprise, Alec opened his mouth. 

"Lydia, why?" he asked, his voice soft and gentle. "What made you do that? After everything we did for you." His voice broke, and Magnus could tell he was holding back tears. 

Lydia stood up and grabbed a box of tissues from the end table. She dabbed carefully at her eyes and leaned against the wall, as if everything was too hard to handle. 

"Okay, I was the one who posted the picture," she admitted. 

Jace snorted. "No shit, Sherlock." His tone was biting, and Lydia flinched. 

"But it wasn't my idea," Lydia insisted. She sat back down in the chair, leaning forward. "I swear, it was Camille. She'd texted me a few days before saying she was really sorry about the Halloween party and everything, and I wasn't _really_ texting her back—I was just responding with one-word answers. She just sounded so..."

"Vulnerable?" Magnus offered. "Yeah, I know. She sounded the same when I broke up with her. It worked, too, before I came to my senses and ended things once and for all."

Lydia nodded eagerly, looking relieved that someone seemed to understand. "I wasn't the one who took the picture, though. Camille did. I have nothing against you and Alec being together. Okay, maybe I did have a teeny, tiny crush on Alec, but I'm mostly over it now." Lydia shook her head. "Anyway, Camille took the picture. And she sent it to me and was telling me about how lonely she was and how she knew that Alec couldn't make Magnus happy forever unless he came out soon. And she was making me feel really guilty for ditching her, even though I _know_ she's not a nice person, and the way she presented the idea... I don't know. It just sounded logical when she said it."

"Go on," Jace nudged, his jaw set. "What was Camille's 'brilliant' idea?"

"She said that if the picture got out then you, Alec, would freak out and do something stupid to Magnus. And then you'd both be free, and she could have Magnus again, and I could have Alec." Lydia reached for another tissue. "I know it sounds really stupid saying it out loud, but I swear to God it made sense at the time."

Magnus shook his head. "Oh, Lydia..."

"And I know that that's never gonna happen and that you two love each other, and I accept that, and I'm more than okay with it," Lydia hastened to say. She avoided looking at any of them in the eyes. "I was just in a really bad place, and Camille has a way of being scarily good at convincing people of stupid stuff when they're vulnerable. I never meant to hurt anyone, really."

Alec stood up and said in a measured voice, "Thank you for telling us what really happened, Lydia." He turned to look at the rest of them. "I'll be waiting in the car." With that, he turned and walked out.

Magnus felt a nudge from Izzy, who had a pointed look on her face. Magnus jumped up and ran after Alec. 

 

 

**Alec**

"Are you okay?"

Alec turned and saw Magnus crunching through the snow after him. His voice was muffled by his scarf, and Alec couldn't help but notice how cute he looked all bundled up. 

Alec opened his mouth automatically to say, "I'm fine," but he stopped himself. Was he _really_ fine? He forced himself to look at Magnus straight in the face. "No," he admitted. "Not really. It hurts to hear how easily Lydia fell for Camille's tricks. It hurts that now the entire school knows I'm gay. It hurts to know that I didn't get a chance to come out to everyone in my own way. And it hurts knowing that I've let you down."

Magnus shook his head. "No, Alec, you haven't left me down." Alec was surprised to see Magnus getting teary-eyed. "I'm so proud of you. You're so brave and strong. When I met you, you were insecure and uncomfortable in your own skin, and now you have this quiet confidence about you that is, quite frankly, really sexy."

Surprised, Alec chuckled and rocked back and forth on his heels. 

"I wanna do something," he said. He marveled at how his voice sounded confident and steady. "I wanna show everyone the real me. On my terms."

***

The next morning on Monday, everyone had seen the post. Alec could feel eyes on him, and though it still made him slightly uncomfortable, it was a good kind of attention and buzz, so he managed.

Just before the warning bell rang for first period, Alec pulled Magnus in for an unexpected peck on the cheek. It wasn't a full-on kiss, but it was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If someone could tell me in the comments how to upload pictures from camera roll onto ao3, I'd really appreciate it, since I can't seem to figure out how to do it. It'll also add more to the story, like what Alec's Instagram post said. Thanks for reading!


	30. Chapter Thirty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the kinda late update. I was struggling writing this chapter, and now it's really long, but what can you do?

**Chapter Thirty**

 

 

 

 

**Alec**

It was Simon's idea to go on a triple date for Valentine's Day between him and Izzy, Magnus and Alec, and Jace and Clary, who had gotten over their fight and were now officially calling themselves boyfriends and girlfriend. Alec didn't completely understand the whole idea of a "triple date"; maybe he wouldn't be so opposed to the idea if he only knew why Simon was acting jumpier than usual. Even Jace had noticed in the car.

"Okay, Lewis," Alec said as they were waiting for a table to open up, "what's going on with you?"

"What?" Simon looked at Alec with comically wide eyes. "Nothing's going on with me. I'm fine as a pickle, y'know? Peachy as a cucumber."

Alec blinked, not knowing at first how to process the words coming out of Simon's mouth. Finally, he wrinkled his nose and said, "You're acting all... jittery. Why?"

Simon glanced around nervously, as if checking to make sure no one was listening. Looking reassured, Simon leaned in to Alec and whispered his plan into Alec's ear. 

"Do you think Izzy will like it?" Simon asked, wringing his hands together. 

Alec looked at his sister, who beamed back at him, then looked back at Simon and nodded. "She'll love it."

 

 

**Magnus**

Over their entrée of bread and garlic, Magnus nudged Alec gently in the shoulder and asked what was up with Simon. Anyone with eyes could see that something was going on with him.

"It's a secret," Alec whispered back, a mischievous grin on his face. It had been so long since Magnus had seen Alec look like that, and he couldn't help but grin back. 

Magnus gave Alec his best innocent puppy dog pout, but Alec just laughed and reached for another piece of bread. 

 

***

 

Almost two hours later, when they were all pleasantly stuffed, Magnus was surprised to see Simon wipe his hands on his pants nervously (Magnus was starting to realize that everyone else got sweaty hands when they were nervous—except for him) and walk up to the front of the restaurant where a microphone was placed. 

"Simon?" Izzy asked, a confused expression on her face. "What—"

"Hey, everyone," Simon said, leaning to close into the microphone. The feedback blared back, and Magnus winced. "Sorry," Simon mumbled, blinking crazily as his Adam's apple bobbed in his throat. 

Magnus looked over at Clary, who had a small, almost proud-looking smile on her face. 

"So, um, I met this awesome girl—more than awesome—when my best friend, Clary, introduced me to her entire family," Simon started, voice wavering. "Her name is Isabelle Lightwood. And I don't care that I only met her four months ago. We really clicked, for some reason. I taught her about _Star_ _Wars_ , and she taught me about fashion." That earned a couple light chuckles from the crowd. Magnus had to admit that he had noticed Simon's nerdy T-shirts disappearing one by one. 

"What is he doing?" Izzy asked, an embarrassed smile on her face. 

"I wrote this song for you, Izzy." Simon readjusted his glasses on his nose and put the guitar that was resting on the stand around his neck. "And I really hope you like it." He cleared his throat several more times before finally starting to play. 

Unexpectedly, Magnus found himself swept up in the simple, yet sweet melody. He took Alec's hand and squeezed, and Alec smiled back at him. Then, Magnus looked at Izzy, who was swaying to the music in her chair, and then at Clary and Jace. Though Jace had his arms crossed with a stoic expression on his face, Magnus could hear his toe tapping on the floor to the rhythm. The entire restaurant was captivated by Simon's crooning voice. When he played the last chord on the guitar, he got a standing ovation. Izzy ran over to him and kissed him. 

Magnus had never seen Simon look so happy. 

 

 

**Alec**

Right as Simon strummed his last chord, Alec heard his phone buzz in his pocket. He fished it out and was confused when he saw that it was his father, and he began to panic when he read the message:

 **Dad:**   _Baby. Beth Israel Hospital. Now._

Alec tapped Jace on the shoulder and showed him the message.

"What?" Jace looked at Alec, confused. "Mom's going into labor?"

"We have to go over there!" Alec ran his fingers anxiously through his hair. He didn't want to intrude on Simon's moment, but what was he supposed to do?"

"Magnus," Alec murmured, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. "Could you get the car warmed up? My mom's going into labor?"

Magnus blinked. "She's doing _what_?"

"Going into labor. Like, right now. My dad sent me a text."

Magnus blinked some more, then nodded and hurried out of the restaurant. In that moment, Alec was almost glad they'd all piled into Magnus's car. He looked over at Jace, who was telling Clary, and he walked up to his sister. 

"Wasn't he great?" Izzy burst out, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. 

"I'm glad you liked it," Simon said back, but before Izzy could start kissing him again, Alec told her what was happening. 

"What?" Izzy frowned. Her eyes grew wide as Alec's words sunk in. "Mom's gonna give birth _now_?"

"I'm sorry, uh, what's happening?" Simon asked, his eyes equally as big. 

"We have to go to the hospital immediately," Alec said. He noticed Simon's face fall slightly, but he only kissed Izzy on the cheek and said, "Of course you have to go."

The group quickly grabbed the coats off the backs of their chairs, Clary threw down a wad of cash to pay for dinner, and they ran out to the car. 

"I can't believe we're gonna have a new sibling!" Izzy squealed as they piled into the car. "Isn't this so exciting?"

"Super exciting," Alec said, his voice and body tense. He leaned towards Magnus and said, "Dad told me they're at Beth Israel Hospital."

"Roger that." Magnus entered the name of the hospital into his GPS, and then they were off. 

 

 

**Magnus**

Even from the passenger seat, Magnus could see how stressed out Alexander was. He was the definition of anxious. Magnus couldn't blame him, however.

"God, I hate New York traffic!" Alec yelled out-of-the-blue banging his head against his seat. 

"We're almost there, Alec," Izzy said. Her eyes were glued to her phone where Robert was sending updates every couple of minutes or so. "Mom's still having contractions—apparently they need to wait until she's ready to give birth."

"'Kay. Thanks, Izzy." Alec rolled down the window and yelled at the car in front of them, "Fucking move! The light's green!" 

"Who needs a horn when you have Alec?" Simon joked, and Magnus had to chuckle. 

"You know, Alec," Magnus started as they slowed down to a stop. "I can't believe you never even mentioned your mother was pregnant."

"Oops." Alec sent an apologetic look to Magnus.

"You never told me either," Clary said, looking at Jace.

"Me neither," Simon added.

It seemed the Lightwood siblings had forgotten to mention that fact to each of their significant others.

"Go already!" Alec yelled out the window, and Magnus saw several middle fingers being promptly raised in the air along with some colorful language. From that point on, Alec was banned from rolling down the window in times of stress. 

 

***

 

"Thank God," Alec said when they pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. "Finally!" He jumped out of the car and ran towards the entrance.

"Alec, wait!" Jace yelled. He had to reach over Simon to open the door, which was awkward for both parties. 

"Alec!" Izzy shrieked, her fingers dancing out a quick message presumably to her dad. She looked back at the rest of them. "Well, c'mon. You can't just sit in the car for the entire time."

"Are you sure?" Simon asked. "I thought this type of stuff was only for family and friends of the family—"

"Shut up and let's go!" Jace yelled, turning around mid-sprint. 

"This _is_ so exciting," Magnus heard Clary say to Izzy, who nodded in agreement.

When they entered the waiting room, they found Alec and Jace already talking to the receptionist. They were both panting heavily, and Alec's cheeks were flushed pink from the cold. 

Magnus joined him and placed a comforting hand on his back. Alec melted into the touch. 

"Are you _all_ family?" the receptionist asked, eyeing the group suspiciously. 

 

"Uh, describe what you mean by family," Jace said. "Alec, the girl with black hair, Izzy, and I are related by blood, but Magnus, Clary, and Simon are still part of the metaphorical family."

Magnus's heart was unexpectedly warmed by Jace calling the three of them family. He caught Jace's eye, and in that split moment, Magnus knew that he'd proved to Jace how much he cared for his brother. 

"Only family can go back," the receptionist said, "but if you want, they can come visit after the birth is over."

Magnus shook his head. "Your parents don't really like me," he said. "They're going to be tired out already from a new baby. You don't need to throw me in there."

"Are you sure?" Alec asked, and Magnus nodded. 

"I'll keep myself occupied," Magnus assured him. He placed a light kiss on Alec's cheek, and headed back to his seat. The receptionist raised her eyebrows, but thankfully said nothing. 

"Izzy," Alec called, beckoning his sister over. 

Simon smiled at Izzy. "I'll be right here," he told her. 

 

 

**Alec**

It was strange for him to see his mother like this. The only time he'd seen her not perfectly put together was when her mom, his grandmother, had passed away. Jace hadn't been adopted yet, and Alec and Izzy had prepared stew to cheer her up (which she'd loved). When they'd entered her bedroom, the only light came from the lamp on her nightstand. She'd had bags under her eyes, and her hair fell in greasy clumps down her back. It made Alec sad to see. This, however, was so much worse.

"You're almost there, Maryse," the doctor said. Her voice was soothing, and Alec wondered how on earth she could be so calm. 

"You can do it, Mom!" Izzy was holding her mother's hand, and had been wincing for the past fifteen minutes. Alec could see how white his mother's knuckles were turning, and he was glad he would never have to go through something as painful as childbirth. 

"C'mon, honey," Robert said quietly. He was holding his wife's other hand, and Alec didn't miss the look his mother gave him. He wondered what that was all about, but he tucked it away in the back of his mind for later. 

"Are you super uncomfortable, too?" Jace asked, leaning into Alec's ear. 

"Very," Alec agreed. 

"I could never be a doctor." Jace shuddered. 

Alec laughed softly. "Like you have the grades for it even if you wanted to," he teased back, and Jace rolled his eyes. 

Suddenly, the sound of a crying baby filled the air, and Izzy was showering Maryse with kisses. Alec was surprised to see his father blink back tears as the doctor handed the cleaned off, wailing baby to Robert. 

"Look how small he is!" Izzy cooed examining the baby's fingers. "Isn't he adorable?" She looked at Alec and Jace. 

"He's so tiny!" Jace echoed, awe in his voice. "This is insane!"

"Welcome to the world, Max," Alec said, silently marveling at how soft the baby felt. 

"Do you wanna hold him, honey?" Robert asked. When Maryse nodded frantically, Robert gently placed the baby in his wife's arms. 

As soon as his mother held Max, Alec could see a new side of his mother come out. She was whispering to him and rocking him slightly in the bed. Her sweaty hair fell in her face, but she shook it to the side. Her entire focus was on Max. 

When she finally did look up, she and Alec made eye contact—something in his mother's expression made him want to run into her arms and bawl like Max was doing right now. 

Maryse cleared her throat and looked at everyone in the room. "Could you all please give Alec and me some time together?"

Alec looked around the room at his siblings who looked equally as confused as he was. 

"Oh... sure," Robert said. He glanced at Alec, not quite making eye contact. "Come along, Jace. Isabelle."

Izzy gave Alec a reassuring squeeze and Jace patted him on the back. "We'll tell everyone that it all went swimmingly," he said. 

As they all exited out the room, Alec took a deep breath and walked closer to his mother's bedside. 

"How're you feeling, Mom?" Alec murmured, gently stroking his new younger brother's cheek. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his cheek when Max softly wrapped his chubby hand around his fingers.

"Better now that he's stopped crying," Maryse chuckled tiredly. "For the time being," she added. She looked at her son. "You were the exact opposite. I was worried about the fact thay you _were_ quiet. And my firstborn! You set unrealistic expectations for Jace and Isabelle, and now, Max."

"Perfectly behaved even before I could walk," Alec offered. He waited for his mom to explain what she wanted to talk to him about. 

Maryse took a deep breath, and Alec was shocked to see her eyes fill up with tears. "Alec," she started, reaching out a hand to him. "Alec, I am so sorry."

Taking her hand, Alec couldn't force himself to make eye contact. "For what?" he mumbled. 

"You know for what," Maryse responded. "For acting the way you did when you came out to me."

Alec clenched his other hand into a fist. "Why did you act that way?" Alec asked, hating how shaky his voice was becoming. "It really hurt, Mom."

Maryse shifted slightly. "When your father and I were little, he had a best friend named Michael. And one day, Robert told me that Michael had said he was gay and kissed Robert on the lips. I was so mad I yelled at Michael and told him to stay away..." Her voice caught. "They stopped being close, and a year later, Michael killed himself."

"Oh." Alec didn't know what to say. 

"It hit both of us really hard, and I guess I just sort of rationalized it as: if Michael hadn't been gay, then he'd still be here today..." Maryse shook her head. "And I know that that is no excuse for how I reacted, and I know that I don't deserve you or your siblings' forgiveness; I just wanted to..." She trailed off. 

Alec was silent, mulling over what his mother had just told him. "I don't know if I can forgive you," he said, then quickly rephrased that. "I mean, not yet, at least." He felt tears sliding down his cheeks. "But I would really like to try. I'd like to try with Dad, too."

Maryse smiled up at her oldest son. "I want to be accepting of Max, no matter what sexuality or gender he wants to be when he's older. I want you to help me with that."

"Thank you," Alec whispered. "Thank you for trying."

It wasn't forgiveness. But it was a start. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go, which will be an epilogue! Can't believe it!
> 
> Also, please forgive the timeline. I know that book Max isn't born in Feb. and I know that in reality, Maryse still has three more months to go before she's ready to give birth, but I really wanted Max being born to signify an inner change Maryse was going to go through.


	31. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

 

 

 

****

_**June -** **Four** **Months** **Later**_

 

**Magnus**

The first time Magnus Bane saw his boyfriend wearing makeup, he was at a loss for words. Izzy had painted the pride flag on both of Alec's cheeks, and she had brought out his blue eyes even more by putting on a generous amount of black eyeliner.

"I look weird," Alec said after examining himself in the mirror for several seconds. "Like a clown."

"A hot clown," Magnus joked, resting his chin on Alec's shoulder. He whispered in Alec's ear, "You look sexy, Alexander."

Alec's cheeks turned bright red—so bright that Izzy wouldn't need to brush any blush on them. 

"Get a room," Jace yelled from the sofa before Clary scolded him to keep his eyes closed. She had convinced him to let her paint a pride flag on his right cheek and was wearing several rainbow-colored necklaces. 

From the corner of Magnus's living room, came a meow. Magnus bent down and picked up the Chairman and The Great Catsby in each hand. 

"They're excited, too," Magnus said. Alec reached over and scratched The Great Catsby on the head. "I'd bring them with us, but the noise and the people might freak them out."

"Everyone, look!" Madzie's voice called from the other room. There was the sound of light footsteps on the hardwood, and she emerged from the hallway. Her nails were rainbow-striped with a heart on the ring finger. Blue and purple ribbons were threaded through her pigtails, and she had a large grin on her face. 

"Hey, sweet pea!" Magnus picked her up and swung her around in a circle, and she shrieked, her eyes lighting up with delight. 

"You're so good with nail polish, Catarina," Izzy sighed enviously. "I don't know why, but that's the one thing about makeup that I can't do well."

Catarina smiled modestly. "Thank you, Isabelle." Like everyone else, she was completely decked out in rainbow. 

Magnus looked around the room and felt a sudden appreciation for his friends. Every other time he'd gone to a pride parade, Camille had come, and she'd always acted like it was something she had to do and post on Instagram to gain likes and followers and to hear people tell her how great it was that she was a supporter of the community. 

"Thank you," Magnus said. 

"What for?" Jace asked. 

Magnus smiled. "For being such great friends."

A chorus of "aww" overlapped one another. They seemed to come from everyone except Jace. 

"Sorry," he said, shrugging. He let out a fake cough. "I'm allergic to sentimentality."

"Jerk," Clary said, but there was no bite in her voice. 

"Are we ready?" Alec asked, looking around the room. Simon picked up the stack of posters from the corner of the room and nodded. 

"This is _so_ _exciting_!" Simon squeaked.

 

 

**Alec**

He could hear the music from the parade when they were still four blocks away. Alec knew he didn't do well with crowds, but he wanted to be here. He was out now, and he wasn't ashamed of it anymore. What better way than to go to a pride parade to openly show his support for the community?

"Okay, who wants this sign?" Simon asked, already having to talk louder to be heard over the music. He held up the poster that said: IF GOD HATES GAYS, THEN WHY ARE WE CUTE? Magnus had come up with the words, and Clary had sketched it with bright bubbly letters. 

"I do!" Alec volunteered. He noticed their surprised looks and suddenly felt self-conscious. 

"I'm loving that confidence, Alec!" Simon cheered, handing the poster to Alec. "Okay, I wanna hold this one." 

The next poster said: MAY THE FORESKIN BE WITH YOU. Jace had actually been the one to come up with that one. Alec figured it was meant to be sarcastic, but everyone had liked it. Simon especially had been delighted with the _Star_ _Wars_ reference. 

"It is a great poster," Izzy agreed. She bumped her brother. "Thanks, Jace!" She grinned at his annoyed expression. 

"I guess that leaves Jace and Clary and Catarina and Madzie to argue over who gets the last poster," Simon said. "Just a quick fight to the death."

Jace flexed his muscles. "Let's go, then," he said. 

Catarina chuckled and wrapped an arm protectively around Madzie's shoulders. "We have our own little sign," she said. Madzie waved a poster that she had obviously made herself. Alec squinted and was able to make out the words "LOVE IS LOVE."

"I made it myself," Madzie said proudly. "And I used all the crayons in my art box."

"Look at our future artist," Magnus said, and Madzie began skipping faster down the street. 

"Madz, wait!" Cat yelled, and she began chasing after her daughter. 

"C'mon!" Alec yelled, and he began to run down after Cat. Laughing, Simon handed the poster board off to Jace and Clary and followed him. Alec had never felt freer.

 

 

**Magnus**

To nobody's surprise, Jace had beaten all of them to Cat and Madzie. Not that it was a race, or anything. Alec had come in a close second, and Magnus, Izzy, and Clary all tied for third. Simon was last with tiny beads of sweat lining his forehead.

"I have got to join a gym," Simon wheezed, putting both hands on his knees. 

"We can join a gym together!" Izzy suggested brightly, and Simon's eyes grew wide with pure, unadulterated fear. 

"Why, that sounds like a fabulous idea," Magnus chuckled. He was also slightly out of breath, but he was doing a good job at hiding it. 

Looking around, Magnus noticed Alec staring at the crowd of people walking together and dancing. "What do we do now?" he asked, and they all turned to Magnus with questioning looks. It made him feel very important. 

Magnus shrugged. "Just join in!" He grabbed Alec's hand and pulled him in the midst of the crowd. "Hold up the sign," Magnus instructed. "That's the whole point of having one."

"Oh." Alec looked and sounded like a lost puppy. "Okay." He slowly held up the sign and smiled. "Okay," he repeated. 

"This is insane!" Clary yelled over the noise. "And I love it!"

Magnus looked behind them and noticed Simon waving the sign back and forth with such enthusiasm that he almost hit several people in the head. Jace was also holding up a sign which read simply: LOVE HEALS. Alec had come up with that one. Below the words, Clary had drawn a heart with stitching and band-aids on it.

"I have to admit," Jace shouted, "this is actually pretty cool. You know, seeing everyone come together like this and knowing there's a whole community of people who understands what you've been through or are currently going through, and who are willing to be there for you."

"Now who's getting sentimental?" Clary teased. There were tears in her eyes. 

Half-expecting a snappy comeback, Magnus was surprised when Jace looked straight at him. "Thank you for being there for my brother." His voice was dead serious. 

Magnus bit his lip to try and hold back his tears of happiness. "There's no other place I'd rather be." He kissed Alec hard on the mouth. "Aku cinta kamu," he whispered against Alec's lips. 

"What does that mean?" Alec whispered back. 

"It means 'I love you' in Indonesian," Magnus answered. 

"Aku cinta kamu," Alec responded clumsily, tripping over the foreign words.

 

 

**Alec**

It was a while until Alec noticed the protestors. They held signs with Bible verses on them, and their faces were angry.

"Magnus..." Alec trailed off, pointing to the group. 

"Don't pay any attention to them," Magnus said, clutching Alec's hand tighter. 

"Bastards," Jace cursed, glaring at the crowd. 

"Why are they here?" Alec asked. He knew that before him, his parents would've likely been a part of that crowd. 

"There will always be haters, Alexander," Magnus said fiercely. "There will always be people who disapprove of us and try to make us feel ashamed of ourselves. Don't. Let. Them. Win."

Alec let out a shaky breath and raised the poster higher, ignoring his already aching arms. "I've let those kind of people win for too long," he said. "No more."

Magnus's words echoed in Alec's head as he looked around at his friends who were not part of the LGBTQ+ community themselves, but were there being their crazy, supporting selves nonetheless. 

Never in a million years would Alec have thought that he would attend a pride parade. Yet here he was. Maybe that was proof that anything was possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't express how grateful I am for everyone who's read this story and left kudos and such wonderful comments! This was supposed to be something I just wrote every once in a while, and it's grown to be so much more. This is my first fantiction I've shared with people, and now that I've reached the end, it's all incredibly bittersweet. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart! xoxo

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story; I'm sorry if it sucked.


End file.
